Aang's Journey
by The Pterodactyl
Summary: AU set five years after the canon start of the show. Aang wakes up alone and must find his destiny with the help of an unlikely traveling companion. Sequel to/Continuation of When the Earth Shifts.
1. The Southern Air Temple

A/N: So for those of you that read When the Earth Shifts, this is the next arc in that plot line. WtES Kind of set the stage for the events of Aang's Journey. including Aang's actualy awakening. So, if you find yourself confused at any point, it might be best to go back and read that arc first. It's worth your time, I promise!

Anyway, here is continuation of Aang's adventures.

Aang sat in Appa's saddle, paralyzed by indecision. On the one hand, he was reluctant to run from the only living people he had so far encountered. On the other, he was currently surrounded by evidence that a waterbender village had been brutally destroyed by a group of firebenders. Aang looked out at the ship, still a good ways from shore. He estimated he had about ten minutes before it landed. The sun had sunk below the horizon, soaking everything in the cloudy blue of twilight. Aang made a split second decision.

"C'mon, Appa," he said urgently, and tugged on the reins. He had to hope that Appa's white coat and the dim light had been enough to keep them from being seen.

Aang directed Appa to move behind a large snow drift, and quickly used airbending to swirl it around them, creating a kind of snow fort. He poked a hole in the wall with his staff, and proceeded to watch as the ship came to a halt near the shore. Its prow hatch opened, and two uniformed firebenders came hustling out. Aang managed to catch most of what they were saying.

"…don't know why the captain redirected us down here. It's freezing!"

"It was that light! You didn't see it; you were below decks, but it was crazy! The captain just wanted to investigate."

"But nobody lives down here! The last village was destroyed by Prince Zuko years ago!"

"You know he's not a prince anymore, right? He's probably dead…and anyway, you don't know that. Those waterbender savages are tricky; they could've hid out in those mountains for years without us knowing…"

They moved out of earshot then, and Aang found himself boiling with even more questions. The Southern Water Tribe was gone? But that was impossible…Gyatso had been planning a trip there just a few days before Aang had run away. Aang winced at the thought. The first thing he was doing when he got back was apologizing profusely to his master.

But there was the other thing the one soldier had said. The last village had been destroyed "years ago." Did that mean Aang had been frozen for years? It didn't seem possible…but how could an entire civilization just disappear overnight?

The firebenders returned then, grumbling about not finding anything and the diversion being a total waste of time. They returned to their ship, and the hatch closed behind them. A few minutes later, the ship shoved off, making its way roughly northeast.

Aang waited until he could no longer see the ship before he opened the drift and led Appa back out into the open. They had gone undetected, but Aang now knew he needed to get home as soon as possible. He needed answers.

"Appa, you feeling up to flying?"

Appa groaned an affirmative.

"Good. We're going home. Now."

--

The trip back to the Southern Air Temple was nerve wracking. Aang was sure he'd crest the final ridge and there would be nothing, his home gone as surely as that waterbender village had been. The trip was made worse by the fact that Aang wasn't entirely sure where they were; he ended up going too far north and had to turn back southwest to find the Patolas.

When the first needle sharp peaks came into view, however, Aang couldn't help but feel a rush of familiarity and calm. He knew this place. Everything was going to be just fine. His good feeling was 

buoyed when they came upon the Air Temple, unchanged from the day they had left. Aang smiled. It was good to be home.

--

When they landed, though, Aang felt the creepy sense of danger coming on again. It was eerily quiet. He was used to the chatter of lemurs, the sound of monks and their apprentices practicing on the training grounds, the whoosh of an airball game. Now, it was silent, save for a few birds.

"C'mon, Appa, we gotta find Gyatso…"

They wandered up to the upper levels of the temple, still seeing nobody. If it hadn't been for that ship, Aang would've begun worrying he was the last human being on the planet. The only evidence of Gyatso they passed was a statue of him standing sentinel at the entrance to the highest central tower. Aang bowed deeply to the visage of his master, and then continued inside. Appa lowed after him. Aang turned to see the sky bison looking thoroughly uncomfortable with entering the confined hallway.

"It's okay, Appa. Find someplace to graze. I'll be back soon." Appa grunted and took off.

Aang continued with his exploration, though now a definite destination had presented itself. There was a huge door deep in the central tower, which could only be opened by a master airbender. Gyatso had said that when he was ready, Aang would find someone inside who could give great wisdom. If nothing else, Aang had to meet this person. Maybe they could answer some of the questions burning inside him.

Having only seen the door once, Aang was awed when he came across it, situated about halfway up the tower. It was a massive, imposing thing, wooden, with pipes and tubes snaking across its surface, ending in two large funnels. The locking mechanism consisted of a trio of blue ceramic discs, each one etched with a spiral, arranged so they resembled the Air Temple insignia, like the one engraved on the floor beneath Aang's feet.

Aang took a deep breath in preparation. Beyond this door lie the answers he sought, and hopefully the wisdom to know where to go next. He calmed himself, and sent two great gusts of air into the funnels.

A moment passed where nothing happened, then the air pressure built inside the tubes caused the discs to flip one by one, exposing their red reverse sides. Each one emitted a tone as they flipped, creating an eerie harmony that echoed in the hall.

Aang stopped the air as the door swung open, almost silent despite the fact that Gyatso had said only the Avatar was permitted to enter.

Aang stepped inside slowly; the room was vast, but very dimly lit. In fact, there seemed to be no light inside the room, only that which poured in through the huge doorway.

"Hello…?" Aang called. There was no response. "Hello? Is anyone here? Please, I need to talk to you!"

Still the room remained silent. Aang began getting frustrated. This was ridiculous; Gyatso had said there would be someone inside who could help him. So where was this person?

Aang walked deeper into the room, more purposefully, determined to find the room's occupant. He was so focused that he missed the statue that reared up from the gloom and smacked right into it.

"Ow…" Aang murmured, rubbing his head. He looked up at the statue to see it was of a woman, average height, with long hair and a robe trimmed in fur. A Water Tribe woman, then. Aang realized there were many statues, all of them lined up on the floor. He continued past the woman, noting a man from the Fire Nation, an Air Nomad, and a tall man dressed in the garb of an Earth Kingdom general. Aang realized that the statues weren't just lined up on the floor; they were arranged in a spiral. A glance up to the far 

wall revealed that the spiral continued past the floor, as the statues stood in grooves that wound their way up the room, until they were lost in the darkness above.

Now Aang was annoyed. Statues? This was the big secret behind the big door? How were statues supposed to help him?! He angrily turned and kicked the nearest one, which only resulted in a pain in his foot.

"Stupid statues…stupid Gyatso…what am I supposed to do?!" Aang screamed at the statue he had just kicked, and found his anger evaporating at the sight of its face.

It was a statue of a firebender, tall, regal, with a long beard and hair, and a decorative flame crown in his topknot. His face was stern, and Aang could've sworn he was examining Aang with those stone eyes.

"Avatar Roku…" Aang breathed. He had never seen the statue before, or the man that it depicted. He just knew, the way he knew his own name. He also knew that Avatar Roku was the Avatar before him, though he had no idea how he knew this either. He suddenly felt very foolish for his anger, and embarrassed at having kicked the statue.

"So sorry…" he whispered, backing up slowly. It was time for him to leave. Another thing he was inexplicably sure of.

As he left the room, the doors closed behind him, and it was then that it hit Aang who all those statues were. They were all Avatars, which explained the strange sense of connection he'd felt from them. They _were_ him, in a past life.

--

Aang returned to the temple grounds, finding Appa grazing happily near the longhouse. Noticing the long, low building, Aang realized he hadn't looked in it yet. It was thoroughly beaten, its hide roof torn and its walls cracked, but perhaps it held a clue as to what had happened to everyone.

Aang entered the longhouse and received a shock. Dozens of bodies, most near-skeletal, were piled in the room, all of them dressed in Fire Nation armor. Aang felt his breathing go shallow. Firebenders, here? But if that were true, then…

Aang's gaze drifted up to far end of the room, and his breath caught in his throat. Slumped against the far wall was yet another body, but this one was dressed in monk robes, and wore a wooden pendant around its neck.

The same one Gyatso had worn.

"No…" Aang breathed. "No, no, no…" He sank to his knees, feeling the grief wash over him. His master was dead. And not only him, but all of the monks from the Southern Temple. Aang was alone.

The grief began turning to anger as Aang gazed at the mounds of firebender bodies around him. How could they? What gave them the right? What made them think they were better?! Aang let out an anguished cry.

--

Inside the statue room, Avatar Roku's eyes began to glow. Next to him, the eyes of a tall woman wielding a pair of fans began to glow, too.

--

Aang felt the countless consciousnesses of the Avatar State swarm through him, turning his vision into a hazy glow. His anger boiled inside him, and the elements answered in his rage, the air swirling around him in a violent vortex. He felt the power build, and longed to unleash it…and unleash it he did.

--

When Aang came to, he was lying on the ground. He opened his eyes and gazed up into the starry night sky. He could only vaguely remember what he had done during the Avatar State, but a quick glance around told him all he needed to know.

The Southern Air Temple was in ruins, almost all of it leveled by Aang's power. The tallest remaining part was the bottom third of the central tower, the top part having been destroyed. Aang felt grief grip him again; now his home was gone, too.

Through tear-streaked eyes, Aang caught sight of a red horned helmet lying in the snow. He ran to it, picked it up, and threw it as hard as he could off a nearby precipice. He breathed hard, tears still streaming down his face. Fire Nation. Monsters, all of them. They had killed his master, all his friends, and if they had found this temple, they had surely found the others, which meant they had killed his people.

Aang felt his anger harden into resolve. He would make them pay. Every last one. He would use his power as Avatar to break them, force them to feel every bit of the pain he was feeling now.

"APPA!" Aang called. Appa lowed from nearby, and Aang ran to him, leaping onto his back.

"Let's go. We've got things to do. Yip-yip!"

* * *

A/N: There's a little button down in the corner marked review. If you would be so kind as to hit it on the way out...


	2. The Circus

A/N: This chapter is short and sweet, and , in all honesty, kind of transitionary. But I still like it, as it's an important plot point...I just wished it was a little meatier. Oh well, brevity is the soul of wit and all that...

Appa flew in a northeasterly direction, Aang sitting behind his head, the reins held in a death grip. He hadn't actually told Appa where to fly, he'd simply given him the command to take off and kind of zoned out after that. His mind was too occupied with thoughts of revenge for him to concentrate on a destination; instead he just let Appa fly.

After long hours, Aang peered through the low clouds they soared above and sighted Kyoshi Island beneath them. He frowned, as he'd been entertaining thoughts of flying straight to the Fire Nation and leveling it island by island. That was quite impossible now, as it would require continuous flight over hundreds of miles of open water. Aang sighed and allowed Appa to continue, if he remembered correctly, their heading would take them within a few miles of Gaoling; he could stop and see what he could get in the way of supplies there. He certainly wasn't planning on going hungry before the Fire Nation paid for what they'd done.

They landed an hour or so later in a small wood, still a good two hours from their destination. Aang decided to scout the area while Appa took a much needed nap; they'd woken from their slumber less than two days before, and already Appa had flown from the South Pole to the southern Earth Kingdom. It was quite a trip, and he was exhausted.

Aang skimmed just ten feet or so off the ground, feeling the rush of flying with his glider. It helped to take a little of the edge off his anger. He pulled up to clear a hill—and stopped, pulling up short to land awkwardly on the crest of the ridge.

Sitting in the depression before him was a large collection of tents, some large, some little, surrounded by a circle of wagons. The tents were all made of red and magenta fabric, and the largest tent was situated in the center. Aang could see people milling around the complex, carrying various things.

It was a circus.

A Fire Nation circus.

Aang felt his anger flare up again. How could those monsters even think about having fun when they had slaughtered an entire culture? His eyes scanned the scene, and he caught sight of a platypus bear being lead on a leash into one of the larger tents. If he listened carefully, he was pretty sure he could ear animal noises coming from that tent.

Of course. Circuses had animal acts, and they had to keep them somewhere. Aang rankled at the thought of the animals being mistreated by their handlers. He came to a decision, right then and there. He'd wait until dark, and then he'd sneak into the tent and free all the animals.

Then he'd teach these people a lesson.

--

Aang was back that night, using his airbending skills to sneak silently down the hill towards the circus. It must have been an off night, as the big tent was dark and most of the workers were gathered in a large wagon on the other side of the complex. That suited Aang just fine. He'd be left alone while he completed his mission.

The tent where the animals were kept was stiflingly hot, and the stench of so many beasts was almost enough to knock Aang down where he stood. And he'd thought Appa smelled bad when he didn't get a bath.

Aang quickly pulled the collar of his robe up over his face and set to work. The animals were held in cages arranged around the perimeter of the tent, each one decidedly too small for the creature it held. The platypus bear from that morning, for instance, was held in a cage it could barely turn around in.

Aang ran around the tent, using his airbending to cut the locks on the cages and set the animals free. One by one, he ushered them out of the tent and into the night, whispering to them to get as far away as possible.

It took a while, but Aang finally managed to free every animal and get them away to safety. He was just congratulating himself on a job well done when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

--

Ty Lee was sitting in her tent, debating going to hang out with the other performers. That one juggler they'd picked up was pretty cute…could merit some investigation. On the other hand, she was extremely tired. Maybe juggler boy could wait…

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Ty Lee sighed. Did the workers really have to swear so much? It got on her nerves. There were far more intelligent, not to mention mentally healthy, ways of expressing your emotions.

From outside came the sounds of a scuffle, and Ty Lee heard the person who'd yelled cry out in pain. What was going on? She got up and moved to the entrance to her tent, peeking out.

"Hello? Who's there?" she called quietly. She saw no one. Wait, no there was someone; out beyond the wagons…was that a boy? She squinted in the dim light. It sure looked like a boy, and a young one too, maybe twelve or thirteen. And his aura…Ty Lee started. It was a brilliant, bloody orange, red around the edges, like a flame. She didn't think she'd ever seen anyone so angry.

The boy was suddenly outlined in a bluish white light. His eyes began to glow, along with arrow shaped designs on his head and hands that Ty Lee couldn't see before. His aura took on blues and greens and reds, in addition to the orange.

The wind began to pick up, and the boy rose off the ground, surrounded by a sphere of whirling air. Ty Lee shivered and ducked inside her tent. Things were about to get very, very bad.

--

Several horrendous minutes later, Ty Lee crawled out from under the ruined remains of her tent. She shoulder hurt where she had landed heavily on it; she immediately began messaging the area to increase the flow of chi and speed healing. She looked around; somehow her tent had been thrown several yards from where it had been, as she was now out beyond the wagons.

As she looked back towards the rest of the tents, she was treated to a terrible sight: The boy, still wrapped in air and glowing, using tremendous blasts of air to utterly destroy the circus. Wagons were sent flying like toys, tents were blown away, and the vortex the boy was creating made it hard to stand. Gradually, the wind calmed, and the boy stopped glowing, sinking back to the ground.

Ty Lee stood stunned. Before her lay the shattered remnants of her whole life, strewn about the hills like confetti. What was she going to do now?

Movement caught her eye, and Ty Lee saw a figure wriggle out from under a nearby pile of wreckage. It was one of the other performers, one of the clowns. He looked like he was in bad shape, grunting in pain and dragging his right leg. Ty Lee saw instantly that it was broken.

The boy saw the man, too, and moved like a flash to stand before him. The man began gibbering in fear.

"Please, have mercy, you don't understand, I have a family—" The boy silenced him with a kick to his wounded leg.

"Did you show mercy to the Air Nomads?! Did you think about their families?! No, you didn't! None of you did!" He shouted over the man's cries of pain. Ty Lee crouched, shivering, praying to the spirits that nothing bad would happen.

The boy's eyes grew hard. "You don't deserve to live." He moved his hands in a violent slicing motion, cutting off the man's final pleas. The man collapsed with a gurgle.

Ty Lee gasped without thinking; it was horrible. She realized her mistake when the boy's eyes flashed to her, and he began sprinting towards her. Ty Lee stood, limbs shaking in fear, but ready to defend herself. The boy came closer...closer…she would have to time this just right…

Just as his arm rose to deliver a blow, Ty Lee lashed out, striking at several key points to immobilize him. Suddenly paralyzed, the boy tripped and slammed into her, bouncing them both over the ground with the force of his inertia. Ty Lee was thrown free, and pushed herself up to see the boy lying on his side about ten feet away. She got up slowly and walked towards him.

He was shaking uncontrollably.

--

Aang felt pain wracking every inch of his body. Well, every inch he could feel, anyway. That girl had done something to him; he couldn't move his arms and legs. He could feel the Avatar State trying to activate, but whatever that girl had done, it prevented it; Aang's vision kept going from normal to Avatar and back again. And it hurt. It really hurt.

Aang screamed as his vision glowed again briefly, accompanied by a mind-numbing wave of pain. His chest heaved, and his breath came short and shallow. He couldn't breathe; he was going to suffocate…

Aang's thoughts whirled. He saw a myriad of things: scenes from his past lives, Gyatso, playing airball at the Temple, showing other acolytes the air scooter he'd invented, Gyatso, the sky roiling with dark storm clouds as he rode Appa away from the Temple, Gyatso, Gyatso, Gyatso…

Aang screamed again, but this time it was in anguish. He felt tears streaming from his face, and now his breath caught because he was sobbing. They were all gone. Every airbender, everyone he had ever called friend, everyone he had ever looked up to, his master, the man that had been like a father to him…all gone.

He began screaming everything, all his anger, fear, and grief from the past two days bursting out of him like a pent up geyser. He was unaware of the girl that had paralyzed him sitting by his side, listening as he raged at the sky. He realized at one point that someone was holding him, gently running their hand over his scalp in a calming fashion as he sobbed.

It was only as his sobs became ragged breaths that Aang realized he could move his limbs again.

He fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

* * *

A/N: Review for the humble writer? Please?


	3. Avatar Roku

A/N: Finally! A real plot point! I know you guys have been waiting for this...

When Aang woke, he found that someone had put a pillow under his head, and a blanket overtop him. His body was aching like he'd just been pulverized, and his head pounded with a fearsome headache. He groaned and rolled onto his side, displacing the blanket in the process. It was still night time. A few feet away, a small fire crackled. And on the other side of it sat the girl that had paralyzed him.

"You!" Aang snarled. He attempted to leap at her, but found that his body wouldn't obey him. He stumbled and almost fell into the fire. "Argh…"

The girl got up and ran to him. "Don't touch me!" Aang shouted. "Get away!"

"But you're still hurt! I can help you!"

"I don't need your help! GET AWAY!" Aang swept his arms across, and the girl was hurled back by a blast of air. She landed heavily about ten feet away. Aang watched her pull herself slowly into a sitting position, and stare at him from the shadows.

"Why are you so angry?" Her voice was barely audible over the sound of the fire.

Aang scowled. "Why do you think? It's not every day you wake up and find out you're the last one of your people."

The girl looked like she'd had something confirmed. "So you _are_ an airbender…"

"Of course I'm an airbender! Are you stupid?"

It was her turn to scowl. "No…but I've never seen one before. You're supposed to be extinct."

Aang chuckled darkly. "Yeah, I guess you scum would know all about that, wouldn't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The Fire Nation wiped out the airbenders! I saw the bodies with my own eyes!"

The girl looked confused. "Well, of course they did. The Air Nomads were trying to invade the Fire Nation for our fertile farmland. We had to defend ourselves."

At this Aang burst out laughing. "What?! That's the biggest pile of bison poop I've ever heard! We never had a military! We're pacifists, for spirits' sake!"

"Oh, sure. Because wiping out a circus full of innocent people just screams pacifist."

Aang glowered at her. "That's different. No one in the Fire Nation is innocent. Not to me. Your people killed my people in cold blood. A little payback is more than you deserve."

"Wait. You keep talking about the Fire Nation wiping out the Air Nomads…you know that was over a hundred years ago, right? No one that's alive now was around back then. Well, maybe a few really old guys, but I'm sure no one that was in the army then is still alive."

"Wait, what?" Aang felt his mind begin to churn. A hundred years? He had been frozen in that iceberg…for a century? "I was gone for a hundred years?" His voice was barely a whisper.

The girl looked extremely confused at this point. "Just who are you, anyway?" she demanded.

"My name is Aang." He paused. "I'm the Avatar." It felt weird saying it. Sort of…final. Like he could've pretended nothing had changed until now, but now that he had admitted it, told someone else, there was no going back.

The girl's eyes went round. "The Avatar? So…that thing you did…where you glowed…that was your Avatar power?"

Aang nodded. "It's called the Avatar State. I don't know exactly what it is, but I can see parts of my past lives when it activates, and my bending becomes much more powerful."

They both fell silent, Aang brooding over the past few hours, the girl apparently trying to digest what she'd just learned. Finally, she spoke.

"Why did you attack us?"

"I already told you. You're Fire Nation. I have to avenge what was done to my people. And since you guys killed us, I think it's fair if I kill some of you."

"But we're just circus performers. We're entertainers, not soldiers. I've never hurt anyone in my life. That man you killed, he was a clown. He made people laugh. And he was one of the nicest people I've ever met. And you ignored his cries for mercy!" The girl's voice broke on the last sentence, and Aang looked up to see tears on her face. "You destroyed everything we lived for, everything we loved! This was my dream, to be in the circus. What gives you the right to just take it away?!"

Aang tried to remain angry, but it was hard; her words stung. "What about you? You cage animals and force them to perform when they don't want to!"

The girl nodded. "I know. It's terrible. I was always trying to get the ringmaster to give them better accommodations, but it never worked very well. But that doesn't justify what you did!"

Aang didn't answer. How could he? She was right. But still…to lose this…how could it ever compare to what he had lost?

"Well, what gave the Fire Nation the right to kill every Air Nomad? You lost a job and a home; I lost _everything._ My home, my friends, my master…EVERYTHING!" Aang broke down and began sobbing again. He hated it. He was the Avatar; he wasn't supposed to cry. "I'm the last one. The last airbender..."

As he cried, he felt the girl come to him and wrap him in her arms. He didn't try to push her away. Instead, he buried his face in her shoulder and just cried. He felt her hands messaging his back, and her voice gently murmuring to him.

"Shhh…it's okay, Aang, it's okay…"

"No…no, it's not…"

"But it will be, you hear me? You can't give up and just wallow in your grief. I know it's hard. But revenge isn't the way, either. How would your master feel if he found out what you just did?"

"He…he'd be ashamed of me." Aang's sobs redoubled at the thought of Gyatso. "Spirits…you're right. This is stupid. I can't just kill people. And if I really was frozen for a hundred years, then everyone that had anything to do with it is dead." He turned to look up at the girl. "But what do I do now?"

"I guess you'll just have to figure that out, won't you?" She hugged him firmly. "But don't worry. I'll help you." Aang nodded.

"Thanks." His cries subsiding, he wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "What's your name, anyway?"

The girl smiled. "Ty Lee."

--

Morning dawned not long after that, but the sun didn't do anything for Aang's mood. Although he was happy that he was off his revenge kick, he now felt empty, purposeless. At least when his mission had been to kill every firebender in the world, he'd felt like he been fulfilling some kind of duty.

Appa showed up about midway through the day, and Aang had to keep him from trampling Ty Lee on sight. Appa apparently though that she was the reason Aang had disappeared for a day and a half, but he managed to convince the bison that she was a friend.

As evening approached, Ty Lee suggested that they find a more hospitable place stay the night, since Aang had no supplies and Ty Lee hadn't been able to salvage anything usable from the wreckage of Aang's attack. On top of that, Aang was getting really hungry, having not eaten since he had woken up.

Ty Lee mentioned a small village the circus workers had been buying supplies from, just to the north. Aang agreed, and they got on Appa and took off for their new destination. Ty Lee found flying to be quite exhilarating, much to Aang's surprise.

--

The village of Ren was a tiny thing, more like a haphazard collection of buildings than a real town. It did have an inn, though, and a small market, so it served their needs. Aang was ready to march right in when Ty Lee stopped him.

"Aang, don't you think Appa will...stick out a little, in a town this size?"

Aang shrugged. "Maybe. But I'm sure we can find someplace for him, right buddy?" Appa lowed happily.

Ty Lee looked apprehensive. "I don't know. I just feel like maybe it would be safer if he stayed outside of town."

"Safer? Why?"

"Just…a feeling I have. Please?"

"Okay," Aang sighed. "But we gotta bring him something to eat."

"Sure, sure."

Aang looked up at Appa sadly. "Sorry, buddy. It's just for one night, though. Everything's gonna be okay."

They bought several bales of hay and carried them back to Appa (Aang had to use airbending to carry his; Ty Lee, who was much stronger than she looked, managed three on her own). Then they went to the inn to get a room.

Ty Lee paid, since Aang had no money, and took the key from the innkeeper. The man looked at Aang as he passed.

"What's up with him?"

"What do you mean?" Ty Lee felt nervous.

"The arrow?"

"Oh! That…he just likes to dress up. He's my little brother, y'know, active imagination. Saw a picture of some Air Nomads in an old history book, and now he can't get enough of them."

The innkeeper nodded, curiosity more than satisfied, and waved her off.

Aang waited until they were in their room upstairs to confront his new companion.

"What was that about? Why'd you tell that guy I was your brother?"

"Look, it's just this feeling I have." Ty Lee held up her hands in a placating gesture. "I just don't think it would be a good idea to tell everyone that you're the Avatar."

"Why?"

"Just…just trust me, okay? Please?" Ty Lee looked like she was on the verge of begging him, and Aang couldn't see any harm to it for the moment, so he nodded his consent. A relieved smile appeared on Ty Lee's face.

"Okay, good. Now, sit down and take off your shirt."

"Huh?! Why?!"

"Calm down! I need to check your chi paths."

"My chi paths are fine! I'm fine!"

"Actually, you're not," Ty Lee took him by the shoulders and sat him down on one of the beds. "When I paralyzed you, and you tried to go into the…what was it again?"

"The Avatar State?"

"Yeah, that…anyway, when that happened, your chi paths got all gunked up. I can see it in your aura; it's this really dingy shade. If I can get a closer look, I think I can fix it for you. You'll feel much better."

Aang nodded. "Okay…" He pulled his shirt off and turned around. Ty Lee began running her hands over his back and shoulders, massaging certain spots and poking and prodding others. She continued down his body, touching on his ribs, down to his legs. When she declare her examination done, Aang twisted experimentally and found himself feeling better than he had since he'd woken up in the iceberg.

"Wow, that feels great! Thanks!" Ty Lee smiled.

"No problem."

--

They stayed at the inn for the next three days, and each day Aang got a little more anxious. He felt like he should be doing something, but he couldn't for spirits' sake think what it should be. He knew he shouldn't just be sitting here, at least. Right now, all he was doing was garnering unnecessary suspicion; the man they bought the hay from was getting more and more curious as to where they were taking it.

On the third night, Aang was laying in his bed, counting the cracks in the ceiling, when it came to him. He was suddenly not in his room anymore; instead, he was standing in the middle of a mountain range. The peaks, not unlike the Patolas, surrounded him, but they seemed oddly distant, as if they were only a model of a mountain range.

And standing before Aang was a tall, stern firebender with white hair and a white beard.

"Hello, Aang," Roku said. "You're probably wondering who I am."

"I know who you are," Aang said, waving a hand dismissively. "You're Avatar Roku, my most recent past life."

Roku nodded; he seemed pleased. "Very good. I have some very important things to tell you, Aang."

"What's that?"

"The world has changed much in the century you've been gone. The war is over, and unfortunately, the balance has been severely disrupted in its wake."

Aang frowned. "Wait, war? What war? There was no war when I ran away from the Air Temple…"

Roku nodded, and began explaining. "On the eve of your disappearance, Fire Lord Sozin hatched a plan to begin a war, one that would encompass the entire world and create a vast empire for the Fire Nation. He planned to subjugate the other three nations in an effort to 'share their knowledge' with them." At these words, Roku looked rather bitter.

Aang suddenly saw a vision of a great, burning streak in the sky. "A comet?"

"Indeed. This comet arrived just after you left, and Sozin used it to its fullest potential. It greatly increased the power of firebending, and Sozin used it to deal a deadly first strike against the other nations." He paused, allowing that to sink in.

Aang's stomach went cold. "The Air Nomads…" he whispered.

"Yes. Sozin's armies overran the Air Temples and killed your people in an effort to destroy the Avatar; but you were already gone. A thorough search of the world was conducted for you, but you, obviously, were not found. Gradually, the Fire Nation lost interest in favor of more present matters, like the defeat of the Earth Kingdom.

"Five years ago, Sozin's Comet returned, and Sozin's grandson, Ozai, used it to launch an attack on the great city of Ba Sing Se. Combined with the Comet's power, Ozai's technologically advanced armies were able to swiftly bring the city to its knees, and establish a colonial government there.

"From that day forward, the Earth Kingdom became the Earth Colonies. It was easy, with a base like Ba Sing Se, to spread rapidly to all corners of the continent. The Fire Nation now has a presence in every major settlement in the Earth Kingdom. The one you are currently staying in has, rather than escape detection, most likely been passed over because Ozai does not consider it a threat. Villages like this one are few and far between."

Aang was floored. The Earth Kingdom had been taken over? What kind of world had he woken up in? Not even two weeks ago, the world had been at peace, at least to him. He suddenly realized something.

"Wait, Ty Lee is from the Fire Nation. She must know about this. Why didn't she tell me?" He realized this must be the reason for her not wanting to advertise his being the Avatar. If the Fire Nation got wind of it, surely they would try and hunt him down.

"I don't think your new friend has been telling you everything, but I also don't think it was out of a desire to deceive you. She seems genuinely concerned about you."

Aang shrugged; it was little consolation in the face of what he'd just learned. "What about the Water Tribes?" he asked, recalling the guards' words at the South Pole.

"The Northern Tribe yet survives, but it is constantly hampered by attacks from patrolling Fire Navy warships. Fire Lord Ozai has been lenient to them in that he did not consider them much of a threat, as they never opposed him outright, but he is loathe to leave such a large group of people outside his command. Even now, I believe he is planning to eliminate them, or at least bring them into the fold. You already know of the fate of the Southern Tribe."

Aang shuddered at the memory of the burned skull.

"So, what? What do I do now?"

Roku looked grave. "As the Avatar, it is your task keep the world in balance. As I said before, the balance has been severely upset by the Fire Nation's actions. They cannot be allowed to remain in their current position of power. You must master the other three elements and restore balance to the world."

Aang started to nod, until it hit him what Roku was asking. "Wait, are you saying I have to learn the elements and then take down the Fire Nation?!"

"That is correct. It is the only way to restore the balance of the four nations."

Aang snorted. "I think all the dead Air Nomads would beg to differ." Then he began laughing, slowly at first, then raucously. Roku looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"And what, might I ask, is so funny? This is no laughing matter."

"It's just ironic…If you had come to me a few days ago, I would have been all for this idea. But Ty Lee made me realize that there are innocent people in the Fire Nation. And I realized myself how stupid it would've been to take on the Fire Nation alone."

"But you must do this. If you don't, who knows what might happen. The four elements have never been so unbalanced before."

Aang couldn't believe this. "But I'm just one kid! And besides, you want me to go save the world? Did you forget that I just found out I'm the _last airbender_ not a week ago? This is crazy! I can't do it!"

Roku looked angry now. "But you must!"

"I _must _do nothing!" Aang shouted. "Who are you to tell me what I'm supposed to do, anyway?! You're just a spirit! You died over a century ago! What makes you think you know what's going on now?!"

Roku sighed; sounding mightily irritated, and pinched the bridge of his nose. When he spoke, his voice was full of exasperation. "Fine. If I cannot convince you, then you must go where there are things that will. Ba Sing Se."

"Why Ba Sing Se?"

"If you go there, you will understand why this is necessary."

Aang smirked. "And maybe I won't. Maybe I'll go there and find out I like it this way!"

"Perhaps." Roku nodded sagely; he seemed to have gotten past his ire at Aang. "Now, your friend is returning, and my time is up. Whatever path you choose, I fervently hope it is the right one."

Then he was gone, and Aang was back in his bed. The sudden change in position from standing to laying was disorienting, and he almost fell off the bed.

Just then, the door opened, and Ty Lee came in, looking like she'd just had a great time. She'd gone out to see what the local tavern had to offer; Aang had declined her invitation to join her.

He glared at her as she crossed the room.

"What?" she asked. "What'd I do?"

"Why didn't you tell me the Fire Nation is looking for me?"

"Because they aren't…"

"Anymore!" Aang added angrily. "But if they found out I was alive, they'd be all over me, right?"

Ty Lee looked at the floor guiltily. "Probably…yeah."

Aang growled. He wanted to yell at Ty Lee, but remembering Roku's words, he kept his mouth shut. He agreed with the old man on that count, anyway. He didn't think Ty Lee wanted to hurt him. Ty Lee was looking mortified.

"Look, Aang, I'm sorry, it's just…you were so upset, and I didn't want to make anything any worse for you…I'm really sorry."

Aang nodded. "It's fine. Really," he added, since Ty Lee didn't look convinced. "It just makes things more difficult now." He massaged his temples. "I hope you can stick to that story about me being your brother, because that's what we're using." He started grabbing things from around the room and stuffing them into the bag he'd gotten.

Ty Lee looked curious. "Why? Are we going somewhere?"

"Yeah. To Ba Sing Se. There's something there that might or might not happen, but I need to check it out." He hated the fact that he was doing what Roku wanted, but he, Aang, would never be satisfied unless he went and saw for himself what Roku wanted him to see. He was still thoroughly convinced it wouldn't do a thing to change his mind.

"That's kinda vague," Ty Lee said, but she began gathering her items, too.

"Yeah, I don't like it either." Ty Lee's face suddenly lit up.

"Hey! We can go see my friend Azula!"

Aang looked at her. "Who's that?"

"Oh, she's been my friend forever, since we were little kids. It'll be so nice to see her again!"

Aang thought that, if this Azula was with the Fire Nation, it probably wouldn't be nice for him, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He'd bring it up if the need presented itself.

"I'm sorry, what?" Aang realized Ty Lee had been asking him a question.

"I was just wondering how you found out that I kept that secret from you?"

"It's a…very long story. I'll tell you tomorrow, after we get going, okay?"

Ty Lee nodded, and they finished packing in silence.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to clockworkchaos, mentalguru, arizony, and Golden Mean for reviewing! Everyone should follow their awesome example! It keeps me motivated!


	4. The Train

They woke early the next morning, before the innkeeper was even up. Ty Lee left the money for their time at the inn on the front desk, and then they were gone. They bought two more bales of hay for Appa, and carried them back to him.

Aang set to making sure everything was secure in the saddle while Ty Lee broke open the hay bales. Appa ate with gusto.

"Eat up, buddy, we've got a long trip ahead of us," Aang said, patting his furry friend's head. "Did you get the map?" he asked Ty Lee. She smacked her forehead in consternation.

"Shoot! I knew I forgot something! I'll be right back!" She darted off into the brush, back towards the town.

"Hurry up!" Aang called after her. He wanted to leave as soon as possible. If they left while the town was still asleep, there would be fewer witnesses.

Ty Lee returned a few minutes later, examining the map she had bought. "It's a little old, but I think it'll do," she said, rolling it up and handing it to Aang. With a deft leap, she joined him in the saddle.

"Okay," Aang said unrolling the map. It showed the whole of the Earth Kingdom continent. Ty Lee pointed.

"We're right about here." Her finger hovered over a spot to the north of Chin. "And we want to go here, right?" She pointed at the vast rings that represented the walls of Ba Sing Se, up in the northeast corner of the continent.

"Yeah," Aang nodded. "We should be able to travel due northeast and get there. We'll have to cross the desert, here," he pointed at the empty expanse in the center of the map that represented the Si Wong desert, "but other than that, it should be smooth sailing."

Ty Lee smiled. "Great! Then let's get going!"

"Yip-yip, Appa!"

With a groan, Appa took off, and their journey began.

--

They flew in silence for a half hour or so, until Ty Lee said, "So…how did you find out that the Fire Nation would be looking for you?"

Aang turned, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Last night, while you were out, I had a vision. One of my past lives, Avatar Roku, appeared to me. He told me things, filled me in on what had happened to the world in the hundred years I've been gone. He told me that after I disappeared, the Fire Nation looked everywhere for me, but they didn't find me. I figured they would start looking again, though, if they found out I was alive." He paused. "By the way, why didn't you tell me about the Fire Nation taking over the world?"

Ty Lee winced. "Same reason I didn't tell you that you were wanted. You'd just been through so much…I didn't want to make things worse." She scooted forward in the saddle to give him a hug. Aang smiled.

"Thanks, I guess."

"No problem."

"Now, I think I'm going to need to be a bit more careful if we don't want the Fire Nation finding out about me. I need some new clothes, and something to cover my arrow."

Ty Lee's face lit up. "Ooh! I know where we can get those! Head a little more north; there's a village that specializes in textiles not too far from here." Aang obligingly pulled on the reins.

--

The town they landed at was much larger than Ren had been. Aang immediately saw what Ty Lee had been talking about, though. From the air, the town's huge central marketplace was awash in different colors as clothing and fabrics fluttered in the light spring breeze.

Aang set down in a copse of trees nearby, but when he made to follow Ty Lee, she stopped him.

"Don't you think it kind of defeats the whole purpose of you being secretive if you walk in with me?"

"But how will you know what size to get?"

Ty Lee laughed, a high fluty sound. "I'm a girl, Aang. I just know these things. Don't worry, everything I bring back will fit you perfectly."

Aang nodded, somewhat reassured. "Just not too much pink, okay?" He'd noticed Ty Lee's apparent love for pink outfits.

"Well…I can't make any promises…but I'll try." With another giggle, Ty Lee headed off to the town.

--

Aang spent the time alone examining the map; apparently the village they were camped near was called Joto. He traced his finger north until it met a large blotch on the map indentified as Foggy Swamp. That didn't look too inviting. Along the route to Ba Sing Se, the map was peppered with small communities between here and the Si Wong; the last one marked was the Misty Palms Oasis. Aang sighed, remembering a fun vacation spent there with his friends Kuzon and Bumi a few years back.

No, wait…it was over a hundred years ago. Aang shivered; that was a sobering thing to think about.

He returned to the business of planning their route with renewed focus; there would be time to mourn the loss of his friends later. From Joto they could travel to Misty Palms, stock up on supplies, and make the trip across the Si Wong as quickly as possible. From there, it was a short hop across Full Moon Bay, then on to Ba Sing Se. If they made good time, they could be there in just over a week.

Aang rolled up the map just in time for Ty Lee to return, her arms full of clothes. Aang gaped.

"Just how much did you buy?"

Ty Lee clamored up into the saddle and deposited her load. "Oh, not too much…a few outfits for you, a few for me."

Aang stared at the mound of cloth. "This is a few?" Something hit him. "Wait…how much did all this cost? We need money for supplies!"

Ty Lee waved her hand. "Don't worry about it; we just stocked up, and anyway, I got a discount." Before Aang could ask her to clarify she gave him a sly smile, and Aang was somewhat forcibly reminded of just how attractive his friend was. "We're all taken care of. Now," Ty Lee said in a business-like tone, "What do you think of this?" She held up an olive green tunic with tan pants to match. "Here, try it on."

Aang shucked off his monk's robes, and pulled on the new clothes. They fit very well; he was impressed with Ty Lee's assumption of his size.

Aang turned to dig in the pile for a bluish green bandanna he'd seen, and caught sight of Ty Lee stripping her dirty pink tunic and pants off to try on a new outfit of her own. Aang's eyes lingered on the shape of her lithe form, the smooth curve of toned muscles in her back and limbs, and her rather large—

Aang shook himself and turned around. He suddenly felt very bad for the vendor Ty Lee had bought these from. Instead, he focused on putting on the bandanna he'd found, tying it neatly over his head. He chanced a glance at his companion, and saw she was dressed, so he ventured a question.

"How do I look?"

Ty Lee appraised him with a practiced eye. "Like a normal Earth Kingdom citizen."

"Perfect."

"And how do I look?"

Ty Lee was wearing an outfit similar in design to her previous one, albeit done in greens and browns. "You look…pretty." Aang answered honestly.

Ty Lee smiled. "Aw…you're sweet." She began folding the remaining clothes in neat piles and putting them in a set of duffel bags she'd brought. "So, where to now?"

Aang took a seat on Appa and took up the reins. "We're going to the Misty Palms Oasis. We can stock up there, and then make our way across the Si Wong. It should be a pretty easy trip, assuming the Fire Nation doesn't get wind of me."

"And with that disguise, there's no way they will."

"Yip-yip!"

--

It was getting late in the day when they came upon a large expanse of forest. This in and of itself wasn't a big deal, but something deep in the trees caught Aang's eye. He squinted through the slowly dimming light, and gasped.

"What is that?"

Ty Lee, who'd been sitting in the saddle reading a book she'd bought in the marketplace in Joto, sat up to get a better view. "What's what?"

"That, there…" Aang pointed. "It looks like a scar…"

Cutting deep through the center of the forest was a broad, treeless area, blacked and dead-looking. In the center, the land looked as if it had been stitched up, a thin line running along the cleared area.

Aang scowled. "Fire Nation. Those monsters, they make me sick!"

Ty Lee looked awed. "Wow…I didn't know they'd done this…"

Something I her voice made Aang take notice. "What do you mean?"

Ty Lee pointed at the line in the ground. "Those are tracks. Train tracks. The trains run all over the Earth Colonies, except in the far south. That's why we haven't seen them yet."

Aang frowned. "It's the Earth Kingdom, not the Earth Colonies," he spat. "And what are trains?" The word was unfamiliar.

"They carry people and cargo from one part of the continent to another really fast. It used to take weeks to cross the country on ostrich-horse, now the trains can carry you from Ba Sing Se to just about anywhere in a few days."

She fell silent, and Aang suddenly noticed a puff of smoke on the horizon. It drew near rapidly, until it rounded a bend in the forest and revealed a huge, gunmetal gray machine, many yards long, belching smoke from various orifices at its head. It chugged along with a low, rhythmic sound, and moved absurdly fast for something so large. Aang pulled on Appa's reins and lifted them into a layer of low clouds. The machine growled along below them, snaking its way west until it disappeared between a cleft in the hills.

"That was a train," Ty Lee informed him. "The circus used them on occasion when we had to go long distances in a short time." She sounded a bit sad at the mention of her former employment.

Aang grumbled. "Look at what the Fire Nation has done to this land. They cut their way through the forest without any regard to the animals or spirits that live here. That machine is a blight."

"It isn't pretty," Ty Lee conceded. "But it's such an efficient method of travel."

"So is Appa, but he doesn't require the earth itself to be destroyed for him to get around." Ty Lee had no response for that. Aang wondered if this had been what Roku had meant when he'd mentioned Fire Lord Ozai's "technologically advanced" armies. That train was certainly like nothing he'd ever seen before.

Ty Lee suddenly began speaking again. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, while I was buying the clothes, I took the opportunity to send a messenger hawk to Azula, to let her know we're on our way."

Aang sat still for second. Did she mean what he thought she meant?

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah…"

"Why would you do that? To quote a phrase, doesn't that kind of _defeat the purpose_ of me being secretive?"

"Of course not. Azula wouldn't try and capture you. She's my friend."

Aang turned around. "She's also with the Fire Nation!"

"_I'm _from the Fire Nation, and I'm your friend!" Ty Lee said. "Besides, Azula can help us. She's very powerful."

"Oh, that's even better! She can send whole armies after us!" Aang gestured wildly in his anger.

"Aang, she wouldn't so that! You've never met her; you don't know her like I do."

Aang snarled and turned forwards in his seat. He didn't feel like continuing the argument, but he was positive Ty Lee had just made a huge mistake.

Aang suddenly cocked his head. "Do you hear that?"

Ty Lee nodded. "Yeah, I do…that whining?"

"Yeah." Aang looked up and spotted the source of the sound just as it appeared from behind a hill to the west: a massive machine that floated through the sky, enormous spinning propellers driving it forward. On its prow was a dragonhead figure not unlike on a Fire Navy flagship.

"What is that?" Aang asked, his voice halfway between apprehension and irritation.

"An airship," Ty Lee answered. When she didn't say anything else, Aang turned to see her face was ghostly white.

There was a sudden boom from the airship, and Aang turned to see something flying through the air towards them. He cried out and pulled hard on the reins; Appa let out a roar and followed his command, diving down and away. The projectile barely missed them, falling into the woods where it exploded with a mighty bang. Several trees were set alight in its wake.

"Down, Appa, down!" Aang cried, and they plummeted as another bomb flew past. They avoided the explosion and disappeared into the trees, Appa dropping to ground level almost immediately.

They landed in a densely treed area; Aang diving off Appa's back and motioning for Ty Lee to follow. They hid under Appa, who huddled as close to the ground as possible without crushing them. Eventually, the bangs of explosions ceased, and, sometime later, the whine of the airship's engines faded into nothing.

Ty Lee let out a sigh. "It's gone."

Aang glared daggers at her. "Still think Azula is innocent?"

"Aang, no. That had nothing to do with her." Ty Lee shook her head vehemently. "The Fire Nation armies have always been eager to shoot first, and ask questions later. They probably thought you were some kind of…I don't know, but the fact that they shot at us does not mean that Azula ordered it."

Aang sighed in exasperation. "Fine. But if those things are around, then it's too dangerous to continue to fly on Appa. We'll have to keep going on foot."

"We can't cross the desert on foot, there are no paths."

"I know…as much as I hate it…we're going to have to take a train."

Ty Lee looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, unless you want to take forever going around the desert, and I don't have the patience for that." Aang shook his head. "I really hate it, but it's the only way."

Ty Lee nodded her understanding. "But, I thought you monks were all about patience and waiting?"

"We are, but I'm too stressed right now to wait that long to get to Ba Sing Se. Besides, if these disguises are as good as they should be, we'll have no problem." He rubbed his temples and then gazed off towards the cleared area of forest. "Now…where do those tracks go?"

--

It took them two days to get to the nearest town on foot. Appa lowed in complaint most of the way, but Aang was loathe to let him fly when more of those airships might be around. They left the forest behind and entered the prairie scrubland that bordered the Si Wong desert. It was then that Aang really got anxious, as there were no trees to hide them from airships. But it seemed they didn't frequent this area much, as they didn't hear or see another one after the first, fateful encounter. Of course, that didn't make it any more comfortable, as the sun was merciless. Aang's bandanna was soaked with sweat, and Ty Lee took to wearing a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun off her.

When they reached the town, a tiny little thing whose main feature was the building Ty Lee called the train station, Aang bade Appa find someplace to hide until they figured out what they were doing. Appa reluctantly flew low to a patch of hills to the east. Aang noted their position so he could find them later.

They made their way into town, their supplies packed in rucksacks on their backs. For Aang, being an airbender, it was singularly irritating to have to walk, much less walk with twenty pounds of stuff strapped to his back. Ty Lee, being both physically stronger and more used to foot travel, bore her load without complaint.

Aang perused the small market while Ty Lee bought tickets at the train station. Inside, he found a small bison whistle, sold as an "antique oddity." The shopkeeper apparently had no idea what its true purpose was, and sold it to Aang for a pittance. Aang pocketed the whistle excitedly; it would make communicating with Appa over long distances that much easier. When he was done at the market, Aang sat down on the wooden steps of the train station to wait for Ty Lee.

--

When Ty Lee returned, the wind had picked up, carrying a load of dust that swirled around. She descended the steps quickly, and took Aang by the shoulder. He was surprised at her roughness, and gave her a questioning look. She shook her head and motioned for him to come with her.

She led him inside the station, to the boarding platform, essentially a very long wooden ledge that was covered by a cloth awning. Ty Lee moved them to a bench and sat down, pulling Aang with her.

"What's going on?" he hissed.

"I got us tickets for the next train out of here. It arrives in ten minutes, from the east." Aang looked past her and was just able to make out a trail of smoke coming in their direction. Ty Lee continued, "It takes us a little out of our way, to Honshu in the west, before doubling back to Full Moon Bay, but it won't be more than an extra day and a half of travel." Aang noticed that Ty Lee's voice, while conversational enough, was pitched very low.

"That doesn't tell me why you're acting so sneaky."

"There's a Fire Nation patrol here."

The abruptness of the statement was almost scarier than the statement itself. "What, where?!" Aang whispered frantically. He began looking around crazily.

Ty Lee calmed him with a firm grip on his shoulder. "They're still searching the town. I saw them questioning the innkeeper here. Hopefully the train will arrive before they get a chance to search the station."

Aang's heart pounded. "I bought a bison whistle from the market. If they have some kind of physical description, the shopkeeper might lead them to us."

Ty Lee kept her head down, hidden under the brim of her hat, but Aang could see her jaw clench. "Then I guess we'll just have to pray that the train is on time."

--

As the smoke trail drew closer, Aang and Ty Lee joined the rest of the travelers on their way to Honshu. The train was just pulling in when Aang caught sight of no less than ten firebenders in full armor appear on the platform. He stiffened, and Ty Lee grabbed his arm so hard it hurt.

"It's okay, Aang," she whispered. "Just a few steps and we're home free. Just stay calm…"

Aang nodded, doing his best to look unconcerned as the firebenders walked purposefully down the platform towards them.

The train finally hissed to a stop in front of them. It was tremendously loud and shook the planks beneath their feet. The doors directly ahead hissed open, and people began embarking. Aang had just taken his first step when a gruff voice rang out.

"Hey, you with the staff!"

Aang stiffened, but another squeeze from Ty Lee allowed him to take two more steps.

"Hey, you, STOP!"

Ty Lee suddenly turned to face the patrol leader, a big, burly man made all the more so by his armor. "What do you want?" Ty Lee snapped, in her best 'you're going to make me miss my train' voice.

The leader stopped short. "I'm Captain Xi, with the 12th battalion. There's a wanted criminal on the loose, and he's been known to carry a staff like that." The captain pointed at Aang's airbender staff.

Ty Lee looked offended. "And you think my little brother is this criminal of yours? That's absurd!"

Xi cocked his head, though it was hard to tell what he was thinking behind his metal faceplate. "Your brother? Just who are you, ma'am?"

"I'm Li Mei, and this is my brother, Kien. We're traveling north to visit my aunt near Pouai. And he is certainly not the person you're looking for!"

"Well, there's one way to find out," Xi said. He turned to Aang. "Take off your bandanna."

"What?" Aang's voice came out choked and hoarse.

"You heard me. This criminal, he has another identifying feature: an arrow tattooed on his scalp. Now unless you'd just rather come with us, take off the bandanna!"

Aang flinched at the command, but nodded his acquiescence. He reached behind his head, as if to untie the knot, letting his staff go in the process. Just as one of Xi's men made a move to grab the staff, Aang caught it behind his head, bringing it down overhand in a massive strike.

The ensuing blast of air sent Xi and his men flying, some of them right off the far end of the platform. Aang grabbed Ty Lee's hand and pulled her into the train car, just as a warning whistle blew from the front, and the train began to move.

Aang heard Xi shout to his men not to let them escape, and saw a few firebenders grabbing hold of handles on the outside of the train. Aang gritted his teeth. It didn't look like there was going to be an easy way out of this.

"We're going to have company soon," Ty Lee warned.

"I noticed," Aang said. He turned to survey the car's interior. There were only a few other passengers on this car. "Um, listen, not to be rude, but I'd get out of here if you don't want to get hurt."

The other passengers were happy to comply.

Aang and Ty Lee readied themselves as they heard a loud groan from the car just behind theirs. A split second later the door connecting the two burst open, and a pair of firebenders charged in, fists ablaze. Aang knocked one into the ceiling, then the wall with a few quick moves, but the other one was faster; he was on top of Aang before Aang could react. Suddenly the firebender collapsed, and Ty Lee was standing over him, having just paralyzed him.

Aang grinned. "It's good when the person with the paralyzing abilities is on your side." They didn't have time to celebrate, however, as three more firebenders ran in. They attacked smartly, this time, sending bursts of flame at them from a distance. Aang knocked a few away, blowing out two windows and setting the upholstery alight.

"C'mon! We gotta get somewhere more open!" He grabbed Ty Lee's wrist and pulled her into the next car.

The passengers cleared out quickly when they saw the soldiers hot on Aang and Ty Lee's trail. One of them got close enough to grab Ty Lee's shoulder, but was rewarded with a vicious kick to the side of the head. He dropped like a bag of rocks.

Aang ducked to avoid a shot of fire aimed at his head, and watched as it blew a hole in the side of the car. Thinking quickly, he leapt out of the train, throwing an air cushion down beneath him, and using it to leap up to the train's roof. He turned to see Ty Lee swing from a window crossbeam and flip up to join him. The firebenders were in hot pursuit.

Aang and Ty Lee found themselves surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers, seven, to be exact. A big one stepped forward, and Aang realized it was Captain Xi.

"Give it up, Avatar! You're surrounded, and there's nowhere to go. Besides," Xi said, and Aang was sure he was smirking as he said it, "Even if you do manage to take us all out, we've already notified the garrison at Honshu. You'll be captured as soon as you arrive."

Aang's chest heaved with exertion. He felt the train rattling and shaking beneath him, and a quick glance told him the ground was speeding by below. His hand found the bison whistle in his pocket and clutched it tight. He'd have to make this fast, and hope Appa was faster. He drew the whistle from his pocket and blew for all he was worth.

Xi laughed at the sight of Aang blowing and apparently doing nothing. "Ha! What a waste. Get him, men!"

The soldiers advanced, but Aang was ready. He reached behind him and grabbed the back of Ty Lee's shirt, holding his staff in the other. He spun, creating a wave of air in front of him that knocked the soldiers away, sending three of them, including Xi, flying off the train, while keeping Ty Lee behind him, out of the attack's path. Aang watched Xi fall and land heavily in the dust.

The remaining firebenders seemed intent on their mission, but just then a loud growl was heard, and Appa came swooping in from an angle. Aang grabbed Ty Lee with a shout, and did an airbending leap onto Appa's back. Appa peeled off and left the train behind, the soldiers sending a few futile shots after them.

Aang collapsed in the saddle and reached over the edge to pat Appa's flank. "Good job, buddy; I knew that whistle would come in handy."

Ty Lee tapped him on the shoulder. "Uh, Aang I don't think we should be celebrating just yet. I think Xi called in reinforcements."

Aang looked up to see no less than three airships bearing down on them. He growled and jumped up to take the reins. "C'mon, Appa, we gotta lose 'em!"

Appa lowed and doubled back towards the train tracks, though the train itself was now far ahead of them. Ty Lee shouted, "We can lose them in those hills up there!" She pointed ahead, to a spot where the ground was pocked with dips, hills, and switchbacks. Appa flew swiftly in, just as the first shots from the airships shook the ground with their explosive force.

Aang spotted a small cave mouth and yelled for Appa to dive; the bison deftly turned and flew in to the small opening, landing just inside. Aang crawled to the back of the saddle and looked out. The airships 

were now circling the hills, dropping bombs in an attempt to flush them out. Aang surveyed the cave and determined it was big enough for them to retreat into for protection, should the bombs get any closer. Aang pulled back before he could be seen and turned to Ty Lee.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"We wait. Hopefully they'll lose interest and move on, like that last one did. Then we can escape."

Ty Lee nodded. "I hope so…we don't have enough supplies to last very long." She gestured to their backpacks, which they had miraculously kept hold of during the fight with Xi and his men, but were now short quite a few things.

Aang looked grim. "Then we'll have to hope they lose interest soon." Above, the airships continued to circle, reminding Aang unpleasantly of vulture-wasps.

--

On the bridge of the RAS _Smokescreen_, Commander Lao of the 35th Airborne Division observed his officers at their duties. The bridge hatch opened, and a young soldier ran in, hurriedly bowing to the commander. "Sir!"

"Report, Corporal."

"Sir, the _Flashfire_ and the_ Sunchild_ are both reporting their bomb reserves to be at low levels. Our own reserves are at fifteen percent and falling. The Captain of the _Sunchild _believes we should cease bombing. If we run out, the Avatar would have little difficulty in escaping."

Lao paused for a moment, and then nodded. "Very well. Inform the _Flashfire _and _Sunchild _that bombing operations are to cease immediately." The corporal bowed and hurried out.

Lao mulled over this latest development, and came to a swift decision. "Major Ran!"

"Yes, sir!" Lao's communications officer looked up from his station.

"Send word to the Fire Lord and the Princess at Ba Sing Se. Inform them that we have the location of the Avatar. Put all fleets of the 35th on high alert. They are to shoot the Avatar and his bison on sight."

"Yes, sir!"


	5. Teo

"Ty Lee! Where are we going? We've been wandering in this forest for hours!"

"It shouldn't be much further; according to the map, we only have a few miles left."

"That's what you said a few miles ago!"

"Oh, quiet down, it's good exercise."

"I'm a master airbender; I'm meant to fly, not walk."

Ty Lee didn't bother with a response, and Aang threw up his hands in frustration. It was nearly a month since the incident with the train and Captain Xi, and since then Aang and Ty Lee's lives could really only be described as refugee. They avoided large towns like the plague, kept as much as possible to dense wooded areas and rough ground that was hard to travel across on foot, and just generally tried not to have contact with people. On the few occasions they had to go into town, they kept strictly to the story of Li Mei and her brother Kien, though it depended largely on where they were what exactly the "siblings" were doing. Some days they were visiting relatives in a nearby town, some days they were on a long journey, and some days they were heading home after a long vacation.

In an attempt to make himself less recognizable, Aang had let his hair grow out and used the bandanna as a headband. He raked his fingers through the short black growth on his head, causing it to stand up in sweat-slicked spikes. Spirits, it was hot here…

Ty Lee was as unaffected as ever, and Aang wished on more than one occasion that she would show some signs of being tired, so it wasn't always him asking that stop and rest, though he'd gotten much better of late. Ty Lee was sporting a nice bronze to her skin from all the time outdoors, and the muscles in her legs were more pronounced than ever.

Appa was no longer with them. They had escaped from the predicament with the airships by way of a small tunnel at the back of the cave. Getting Appa in there had been no small feat, and by the time they were out, it was well after dark. They had begun trekking cross country from there, relying on the map to keep them clear of places where the Fire Nation might spot them. But Aang had been unable to shrug off the intense guilt he felt at forcing Appa to walk with them. The great beast was his friend, and Aang couldn't bear to see him so uncomfortable, unable to fly. On top of that, Aang felt like every moment he spent with Appa was a moment the bison spent in danger. If the Fire Nation were to find them, they would certainly capture or even kill Aang, and who knew what might happen to Appa?

For that reason, Aang had finally made the decision to have Appa fly on alone, and meet them near Ba Sing Se. It would be a while before they were reunited, he knew, but separate they stood a greater chance of avoiding detection than they did together. It was with a heavy heart that Aang watched his oldest friend go, soaring off to the horizon.

Aang shook his head to clear the thoughts of Appa, and ran to catch up with Ty Lee. They were currently slogging their way through a forest almost due northwest of the Si Wong. It was actually quite a bit out of their way, but they had been forced to take this route by the heavy settlement of the area around the Great Divide by Fire Nation military forces. Bases littered the area, and it was far too dangerous for them to get anywhere near it.

Unfortunately, said forest seemed to be a lot bigger in reality than it was on the map. Aang had to wonder how much of this had to do with the map, and how much it had to do with the person reading the map.

"Ty Lee, I'm serious, I think you're leading us in circles."

Ty Lee waved her hand. "Nonsense, the map doesn't lie…we'll be out of here in no time."

Aang grumbled. "Okay, listen, I'm going to scout topside. I'll be back in a bit." He took off on his glider before she could protest.

Aang thrilled at the feeling of soaring up above the canopy, the wind in his hair, on his face, the awesome view—

Aang's stomach clenched and he dove back into tree cover.

Ty Lee looked at him funny as he landed. "That was quick."

Aang glared at her. "Does the map tell you that there's an airship base not five miles that way?" He pointed an angry finger in the direction he'd seen it.

"Well, no, but the map is kinda old. It doesn't have every base on it."

"Exactly!" Aang yelled in exasperation. "It's a little old! So don't you think it's possible that maybe, just _maybe_, we aren't exactly where you think we are?"

Ty Lee looked affronted. "Come on, Aang, I know how to read a map…now, we need to head this way…" she started walking again, but Aang caught her arm and stopped her.

"Look, it's getting late, I'm tired, and I'm about to sweat my arrow off. Can't we just call it a day and camp here?"

Ty Lee sighed. "I guess…it is kinda muggy out, isn't it?"

"Yeah, just a little…"

They set up camp quickly, two sleeping bags and one small fire. Ty Lee agreed to take first watch, but Aang, despite how drained he was, tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable in the oppressive humidity, which had not let up with the setting of the sun. So he was awake a few hours after nightfall, when there was a sudden scuffle in the brush and Ty Lee leapt to her feet in anticipation. Aang sat up, reaching instinctively for his staff.

There was a sudden whistling noise, and something small that glinted in the firelight came whizzing out of the dark, embedding itself with a thunk in the trunk of a nearby tree. Aang and Ty Lee both started. Aang carefully moved towards the small projectile, not taking his eyes off the spot from where it had emerged for a second. He glanced at it and identified it as being made of metal, long and thin, razor edged, and presumably needle sharp. Some kind of big dart, then.

There was another whistle and thunk, and Aang realized another dart had impaled the same tree, just inches above his head. Moments later the bushes rustled, and a boy not much older than Aang stepped out of the shadows. He wore a helmet that looked like it had been scavenged from an Earth Kingdom soldier and was a bit too large for his head, along with armor made of cobbled together pieces from different sources, including a breastplate, shoulder guards, and a leather tunic. There were wrappings around his shins, and he was holding a small device, pointed at Aang and Ty Lee.

"That was a warning shot. Drop your weapons," the boy commanded. Aang and Ty Lee exchanged a look. Who was this kid? His weapon was unfamiliar, but he clearly wasn't a match for either of them, let alone both.

"I wasn't joking," the boy snapped. "Drop your weapons!" He trained his weird weapon on Aang, aiming it at his chest. Aang didn't like to think what would happen if one of those darts hit him in a sensitive area. "That's it," the boy said, and Aang saw his left index finger tightening on some kind of switch on the weapon's handle. At the same time, he felt a strange change in air pressure inside the weapon, and a second later, a dart was flying right for him.

Aang brought his staff up just quick enough to divert the dart's trajectory so it skimmed above him. Even so, he felt it graze his hair and pull a few strands loose. He followed up by launching himself at the boy, swinging his staff in a wide arc meant to knock him down and stun him, but the boy was surprisingly quick. He threw the dart launcher away and drew a quarterstaff from his back, deftly blocking Aang's strike. He countered with a downward swing which Aang blocked, followed by a strike that came up from underneath to catch Aang in the ribs; Aang dodged and returned with a jab at the boy's chest that connected solidly. The boy stumbled back and redoubled his efforts, feinting a left swing at Aang's head that turned into a smack at his hand. Aang was surprised enough that he dropped his staff, and the boy seized his opportunity, drawing another dart launcher from his belt and leveling it at Aang. Aang caught his wrist and forced it up, and the shot went wild, disappearing into the trees. Aang turned the hold to his advantage, twisting around and pulling the boy's arm behind his back. Ty Lee stepped in and was about to deliver a paralyzing strike when yet another dart sailed out of the trees above and impaled the ground in front of her. The shot was accompanied by a voice.

"Enough."

Aang kept a firm hold on the boy. "Who are you? Show yourself, coward!"

"Coward? That's not very nice. I hide because it gives me a strategic advantage; you can't attack what you can't see. And I can keep you at bay with my shots all day, if need be. Now, release my friend."

Aang smirked. "Not until you tell us who you are."

"I won't say until you tell me who you are."

"I'm Kien, and this is my sister Li Mei. We're on our way to Akirun." The lie flowed easily from Aang's mouth, having had to do it so often for so long.

There was silence for a half dozen heartbeats, and then another shot flew out of the trees, grazing Ty Lee's arm and leaving a red line. She cried out in surprise and pain.

"Nice try, but no. You should learn to lie a little more convincingly, Avatar."

Aang felt his anger flare. "Who are you?! What do you want?!"

There was a chuckle; and Aang was even more infuriated by the mocking tone it held. "See, I had my doubts, but you just confirmed my suspicion. Very well, I did say I would tell you who I was."

Aang heard a whirring sound, and another boy, this one closer to Ty Lee's age, appeared from the brush. He didn't walk; instead, he sat in a chair that had some kind of motor driving the wheels. His legs were bandaged together, and Aang had the feeling he never used them. The boy held a very long, thin version of the dart launcher the first boy had held. His face was olive toned, and he wore a pair of goggles. His hair was pulled back in a messy Earth Kingdom bun, the rest of it hanging shaggy around his face.

"I'm Teo, and that's The Duke," the boy said. "Now, how about letting him go?"

Aang hesitated, but released The Duke all the same. The boy moved to Teo's side, still eyeing Aang with suspicion. "Now, what are your real names and what are you really doing here?" Teo asked.

Aang and Ty Lee shared a look. Somehow this guy knew who they were, but he didn't seem like he was with the Fire Nation. Quite the opposite, in fact. Ty Lee nodded, and Aang turned to answer Teo's question.

"My name is Aang, and this is my friend, Ty Lee. We're on our way to Ba Sing Se."

Teo's eyebrows shot up. "Long trip. You know you're kind of going the wrong way, right? Ba Sing Se is that way." He pointed, not quite in the direction they had come from, but fairly close. "If you keep going this way, you're going to run smack into the Fire Nation's northern shipping lanes."

Aang glared at Ty Lee, who flinched. "Yeah…our map is kind of out of date."

"I can get you a new map, one that has all the Fire Nation bases in this area on it."

Aang smiled. "Sounds great!"

Teo waved and turned towards the woods he had emerged from. "Come with us, then. I'll take you back to our hideout."

The Duke ran after him. "Teo, what are you doing? You can't just lead these intruders back to our place!"

"Sure I can. He's the Avatar, and anyone the Fire Nation is hunting that badly has to be good for us."

Aang and Ty Lee exchanged another look before quickly gathering their supplies and chasing after them.

--

Teo stopped in a small, nondescript clearing. Aang looked around. "Why are we stopping?"

"Look up."

Aang heard Ty Lee's sound of awe before he himself saw what it was Teo was indicating. Above them, in the trees, was a vast complex of tree forts. There were numerous multilevel buildings, with narrow wooden bridges and zip lines connecting them. Aang felt a seldom used emotion welling up inside him. That looks like _fun_, he thought.

Teo turned to Aang with a smile on his face. "Well? Shall we?"

Aang nodded in excitement.

--

They were winched up into the trees with the use of a strange platform that rose and fell from above. Unlike the rest of the tree fort, the platform was made of metal, and Aang could sense pressure changes coming from a large tank hanging in the branches above. Teo controlled the platform with a lever.

Up in the trees themselves, Aang saw that large portions of the tree fort were burned, blackened. A bridge nearby simply ended, the last few planks hanging pitifully off the end. The building Teo led them to was one of the few that seemed undamaged. Inside, metal machines that hissed and grumbled crowded the room, and pipes ran up and down the walls. Teo motioned for them to sit at a small table, and wheeled himself over to one of the machines, where he busied himself with the levers and cranks that covered it.

"What is this place?" Ty Lee asked him in wonderment. "It's so serene."

Teo chuckled. "I'm glad you think so. I haven't been living here for very long; The Duke can explain it better than I can."

The Duke looked excited, and took up the thread of the story with gusto. "This used to be the hideout of the Freedom Fighters, a band of kids that preyed on Fire Nation supply lines. I was one of them, although I was just a little kid then. Our leader was this awesome guy named Jet, who was a master swordsman, and a great planner. He took good care of us, and stuck it to the Fire Nation any way he could." The Duke's face suddenly fell. "But one day, his plans went awry.

"See, there was a big town, not too far from here, that the Fire Nation was occupying. They used it as a stop off point for troops moving through the area. Jet had this dream of taking back the town and driving the Fire Nation out of this area for good. One day, we intercepted a shipment of blasting jelly, and Jet had the idea of blowing up the dam nearby, and flooding the town, wiping out all the soldiers. We went through with the plan, but only after it was all over did we find out that Jet had hidden the truth from us: he had sacrificed the innocent Earth Kingdom citizens that lived in the town to wipe out the soldiers. Most of us were furious; it was such a terrible thing to do.

"And then things got even worse. The Fire Nation struck back with a vengeance, burning the forest to flush us out. They found our hideout and attacked without mercy. I think the only reason they didn't destroy it completely is because we scattered in an attempt to escape; rather than keep burning the tree fort, they chased us. I never saw Jet, or any of the other Freedom Fighters, again. I guess they're all dead now."

Ty Lee had tears in her eyes. "That's horrible…but how did you survive?"

The Duke smiled wryly. "I hid. In this very building. This is where a lot of the smaller kids slept, so I buried myself under the covers and tried to block out the sounds. When I came out, it was quiet, and the place was deserted."

"And you stayed?" Aang asked incredulously.

"Mhmm. I didn't have anywhere else to go, and this was the only home I had ever known. So I stayed. I was lucky, though, because a few weeks after it happened an old man came wandering through the forest. He saw me, and took me in, back to his home. I remember him saying it was important that I learn to defend myself, and he taught me how to use a staff." The Duke held up the quarterstaff as evidence. Aang nodded; The Duke did seem more proficient with it than most. "The man died about a year ago, and I came back here."

Aang turned to Teo. "And what about you?"

Teo wheeled over to the table, bearing a tray with a battered teapot and cups on it. He poured them each a cup as he spoke. "I came to this place shortly after The Duke did. I used to live at the Northern Air Temple, with my father and the rest of our people."

Aang cut him off. "You lived at an _Air Temple?!_ But how? Only Air Nomads could get up to them!"

Teo shrugged. "My father figured out a way. He's a mechanical genius. Something happened to our village when I was very young; I can't remember it, but it's apparently how I got injured." He patted his legs. "My first memories are of watching my father tinker in his workshop in the Temple."

Aang noticed that Teo didn't use the most reverent tone when speaking of his father. "So, why did you leave?"

Teo scowled. "Because I found out my father had betrayed us."

"What?"

"I told you my father was a genius. Well, he was also a traitor. About a year ago I found out that my father was using a secret room in the Temple to build weapons for the Fire Nation. When I found out, I was furious. He tried to tell me that it was for my own safety, and that the Fire Nation would destroy us if he refused, but I wouldn't listen. I took the glider my father invented for me and ran. And I ended up here."

"So, how'd all these machines get here?" Ty Lee asked.

"Teo invented them!" The Duke said proudly. "I don't know how good his dad was, but Teo's a genius if there ever was one!"

Teo laughed. "Yeah, I did, but I wouldn't have been able to if not for some serious luck."

"What do you mean?"

"A few days after I got here, there was a roar from the sky, and an airship crashed in the forest nearby. I had never seen anything like it, but I knew where it had come from: my father. It was very similar, albeit a lot larger, to an old plan for a war balloon I'd seen when I found his secret weapons lab. I got so angry…and right then I knew what I wanted to do.

"I started studying the components of the airship. We were careful at first, but the Fire Nation apparently didn't care too much about it, because they never returned to clean it up. The Duke and I salvaged parts from the ship. I had the idea of making my own ship. From studying the crashed ship and observing flying ones, I knew I could make some improvements. It took weeks of hard work, and many sleepless nights, but I finally I finished my own ship."

"You have your own airship?" Aang burst out. "That's amazing! Can we see it?"

"It's not an airship," Teo corrected him. "It's a ship that doesn't require a large gasbag to float. I invented a whole new type of engine to power it. Fire Nation airships rely on huge boilers and steam power to operate. My ship uses a new system that injects fuel into a small space, and then lights it, creating a highly pressurized, controlled explosion. The explosion's force is harnessed to turn the turbines that drive the ship." Teo looked very proud of himself.

"Wow…" Aang said. "But can we see it?"

"Tomorrow," Teo said. "It's late, and we were going to take it out tomorrow anyway."

Aang nodded. "Okay. I'll try to contain my curiosity until then."

Ty Lee looked curious as well. "But you didn't tell us where all these other machines came from." She gestured around the room.

"Those were bonuses. Just little innovations on parts I found in the airship that I couldn't use in my ship. We now have a press to make ammunition, a boiler to cook food and wash our clothes, and a system to heat and cool the buildings we use." He drained his cup. "Now, I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. Duke, do you mind showing our guests a place to sleep?"

The Duke looked annoyed. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's _The_ Duke!"

"Whatever, Duke." Teo grinned mischievously.

--

The Duke showed them to another, smaller building across one of the remaining bridges. They said goodnight to The Duke, and rolled out their sleeping bags. Aang, for one, was too excited to sleep.

"This place is amazing, Ty Lee. Imagine what this guy could do to help the citizens of the Earth Kingdom! With his genius, he could rescue whole towns!"

"Are you thinking of joining him, Aang?"

Aang blinked a couple times; the thought hadn't occurred to him, but now that he thought about it…

"Maybe. Teo could do a lot of good. And he has resources that we can only dream of. Maybe going to Ba Sing Se isn't our only option."

"But didn't that Roku guy tell you that you had to go there?"

"Don't mention Roku!" Aang snapped. "He's just an old man who doesn't know what he's talking about. I don't need to listen to him."

Ty Lee shrugged and lay down. "I'm not trying to tell you how to be the Avatar, Aang. But don't you think your past life might have some experience you can use?"

"No. Now drop it." Aang's face was hard.

"Okay, okay. Sorry I said anything." Ty Lee rolled over, and in a few minutes her breathing had fallen into the deep regular pattern of sleep.

Aang stayed awake for a long time, imagining the ship Teo had described. He hadn't really understood his description of its engine, but it sure sounded cool.

Aang fell into a deep sleep, and dreamed he was an air pirate, soaring with Teo in his ship and shooting down Fire Nation airships wherever they went. Teo and Aang, Masters of the Sky!

Aang smiled in his sleep.

* * *

A/N: So, this is definitely my favorite chapter so far...please review, it's nice to see that my efforts aren't going to waste!


	6. The Raid

Aang and Ty Lee woke up early the next morning, as had become their usually routine. While Aang meditated and practiced airbending, Ty Lee did push-ups, sit-ups, and stretching exercises, and practiced various chi blocking kata.

The Duke showed up around midmorning, looking rather sleepy. "Man, you guys are up early."

"Early? It's only a few hours until noon!" Ty Lee said.

"Exactly. Don't you two know the concept of sleeping in?"

"We do a lot of walking each day, and it's nice to get an early start," Aang explained. "Where's Teo?"

"He's off in his workshop, like always. You three would really get along; he's up at the crack of dawn every day, too." The Duke yawned hugely before continuing. "But I'm here to take you guys to breakfast. So hop to it!"

Aang and Ty Lee followed him to the same building they had had tea in the night before, only this time it smelled heavenly. Aang couldn't help but drool at the smells wafting from the doorway.

Inside, The Duke moved to the large boiler Teo had made the tea on, while Aang and Ty Lee took a seat. The Duke set a plate of food before each of them, and they dug in with gusto.

"Isn't it great to get a real breakfast for once?" Aang said around a mouthful of fried platypus-bear eggs. He grabbed the cup of tea The Duke had put in front of him and gulped noisily.

"Yeah, it is, but could you try to enjoy it in a slightly less disgusting way?" Ty Lee asked. She winced as Aang shoveled a whole roll into his mouth.

Aang grinned around the bread. "Oop. Sowy." He chewed with difficulty and swallowed.

--

When they were finished, The Duke led them to the lift they'd used the day before, and took them down to ground level. From there, they walked to a large clearing, dominated by the remains of an enormous wrecked airship. Aang gaped at its size; from the air, they just hadn't seemed this large.

Nestled in the ribs of the huge machine, Aang could make out a kind of work space, tangled with pipes and wires and boxy structures. He could see Teo working on something inside. The Duke ran ahead.

"Hey, Teo! The guests are up!"

Teo looked up from his worked and removed his goggles, leaving a goggle shaped area of clean skin behind on his soot and sweat covered face. "Great! Come check this out, you guys!"

Aang ran over excitedly. "This is so cool, Teo! Where's the ship?"

Teo waved his arm to encompass the myriad bits of machinery. "This is the ship. I know it's kind of hard to make out, because it's hooked up to the servicing stuff."

Aang cocked his head quizzically. "Huh. Maybe it'll make more sense when I see you fly it."

Ty Lee was standing back, observing as well. "I hate to criticize you, Teo, but it's kind of ugly."

Teo gasped. "Don't say that about my baby! The _Ba Sing Se_ is a thing of beauty; the world's most advanced flaying machine!"

"The _Ba Sing Se_?" Aang inquired.

Teo nodded. "Yeah. It's named after the final battle for the Earth Kingdom, so that me and The Duke never forget what we're fighting for."

Aang's face broke into a grin. "So you _are_ fighting the Fire Nation!"

Teo laughed, "Of course we are. What did you think; we just sat around on our butts all day?" He gazed up at his ship with proud eyes. "We kind of decided to continue the work The Duke's Freedom Fighters did years ago. We prey on shipping routes and perform sorties on local Fire Nation bases. Because of us, they're grip on this part of the Earth Kingdom is tenuous, at best." Teo suddenly gave Aang a sly smile. "Hey, would you guys like to come on a raid with us?"

Aang grinned like a kid whose wildest dreams just came true. "Are you kidding?! We totally would! C'mon, Ty Lee!" He grabbed his friend's arm and dragged her forward. "Where can we help?"

Teo held up a hand. "Just let me and The Duke take care of prepping the ship. It'll just be a few minutes, and then we can get on our way."

It turned out the ship wasn't as chaotic as Aang had thought, nor as ugly as Ty Lee had thought. Once all the servicing equipment was disconnected and stripped away, the _Ba Sing Se_ really was pretty impressive. It was about the size of Appa, with a long, tubular central section, and a pair of broad wings with big, wide bladed propellers on them. Several narrow tubes poked out from underneath the ship, and Aang, remembering the dart launchers they had seen yesterday, figured these were the ship's weapons. On top of the central section were three large glass bubbles, and When The Duke hopped into the second one back and closed it over his head, Aang realized that they were where the pilot and passengers sat.

Teo waved them over. "Okay," he started, "now, there's only three canopies, so one of you has to ride with The Duke." He looked at Ty Lee. "Can you handle that? He can just sit on your lap or something, I guess." Ty Lee nodded. 'Okay, then Aang, you get in the last canopy. When you get seated and strapped in, you'll find a little metal device that fits over your ear. Put that on. You'll be able to hear my voice through the vibrations in the wire connected to it. Okay, you guys ready? Let's go!"

Ty Lee climbed up to join The Duke, who looked surprised and flustered that he had to sit on her lap. Aang leapt into the back canopy, closing the glass shell over himself, and quickly found the restraints, as well as the communication device Teo had mentioned. When he fit it over his ear, he found he could hear The Duke as well as Teo. Consequently, he could hear The Duke about how he wasn't a little kid, and 'why couldn't she ride with the Avatar?'

Teo and The Duke exchanged rapid commands, and the ship began humming as it powered on. Aang saw the propellers begin to spin, and the ship, to his surprise, began to move. Aang hadn't realized it until this moment, but he'd been skeptical about Teo's ship's ability to fly. It was like the first time he had seen the train cutting through the forest; there just didn't seem to be any way for something so big and heavy to move like it did.

There was a roar, and the ship lifted off with a jolt, accelerating quickly above the trees. Aang was pressed back into his seat, and already he got the feeling that he preferred flying on Appa or his glider. His canopy was tightly confined and was rapidly heating up with the engine on. This wasn't what flying meant to Aang.

Aang suddenly heard Ty Lee's voice in his ear. "Hey, Teo, you never told us how those dart launcher weapons work."

Aang spoke before Teo could answer. "They use air pressure to fire the darts."

The Duke cut in. "How did you know that?"

"I'm an airbender, I could feel it."

Teo laughed. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, Aang? But yeah, the guns use air pressure to fire the darts. Unfortunately, they have to be reloaded after every shot, but it's not such a big deal if your opponent can't see you. I also created two larger versions and installed them on the ship."

Strange, Aang thought, he distinctly remembered there being three tubes beneath the ship. "What's the third weapon for?"

"That's the cannon," Teo explained. "It's like the big bomb launchers on the Fire Nation airships, only my bombs use a superior mix of chemicals. See, Fire Nation bombs don't do much actual damage when they explode. Instead they set lots of things on fire, and the airships rely on that to do most of their damage. My bombs cause a lot of damage at the impact point, making them more effective for destroying individual targets."

He fell silent then, and Aang looked out the bubble canopy at the ground below. The tree flashed by at an incredible rate, and Aang knew they had to be going faster than even the train had been.

Teo's voice crackled in his ear again. "Up ahead; there's our target."

Aang looked forward to see a line of three airships flying perpendicular to them. These airships were different from the ones Aang had seen before; they were larger, boxier, and less sleek. He noticed a number of smaller craft flying alongside them.

"Teo, what are those smaller ships?"

"Those are fighter craft. The Fire Nation uses them to defend their cargo carriers from attack, since the cargo ships themselves are so poorly armed. You don't see them too often outside this part of the Earth Kingdom. But then, you don't see too many aircraft attacking Fire Nation ships outside this area either." There was a grin in his voice when he said it. "Duke, load the weapons cylinders!"

"It's _The_ Duke!" came the automatic response, but there was a thud, and Aang felt three simultaneous pressure changes below him. Teo continued to fill them in on the capabilities of Fire Nation aircraft.

"The Fire Nation has been getting smarter lately. They don't use hot air to fill their airships anymore. They've started using some kind of natural gas that's lighter than air instead. Unfortunately for them, it's also absurdly flammable, which just makes our job that much easier. The fighters are really interesting; I think the Fire nation engineers might have been trying to steal some of my ideas when they built those. They still have a central bag filled with gas, but they also have a frame built around them that's stable enough to remain in the air, should the bag be compromised. Of course, their engines aren't powerful enough to move the heavy frame at any speed, so it's basically just a method for damaged fighters to limp back to base. Not any problem for us."

Aang was suddenly pressed back in his seat as Teo accelerated. "Those weapons pressurized, _The_ Duke?"

"Yep. I'm primed and ready!"

"Alright, then let's give those bastards hell!"

Teo pitched the ship into a dive, and they spiraled down towards their target. Aang heard a whumpf, and two metal spears shaped like the darts, but much larger, flew from the ship. They scored a direct hit on one of the fighters, shredding its gas bag, and spearing an engine. It began to list towards the airship it was guarding, just missing it as it fell into a spiral.

Another whumpf, just as Teo called to reload, and a small greenish sphere flew towards the vast side of the airship. It impacted and exploded in a burst of flame; a second later, the side of the airship erupted with such force that the ship shuddered, and Aang had to shield his eyes from the brilliance.

Teo's triumphant laughter echoed in his ear. "Ha-ha! Great shot, Duke! One down, two to go!" With a whine from its engines, the _Ba Sing Se_ peeled off to attack the next airship in line. By now, the fighters had realized they were under attack, and were swarming up to defend their charges. Teo piloted the ship expertly, avoiding the firebending shots from the fighters, and setting The Duke up to shoot them down with well placed metal missiles.

The second airship went down as quickly as the first, exploding in a dazzling display of sparks and flame, taking two fighters with it. Aang was just joining in the celebratory whooping when there was a mighty jolt, and he was thrown against his restraints.

"What was that?" Ty Lee sounded panicked.

Teo's answer was strained. "Lucky bastards…one of the fighters hit the main drive shaft. Shifting to the auxiliary engine!"

"But Teo, that thing is slower than a turtle duck on land! We'll never escape!"

"Would you rather crash, Duke?"

There was no answer, and Aang felt another vibration start up from below, as the main engine shuddered and died.

Teo's voice sounded again. "Duke, I'm over-pressurizing the cannon tank! You gotta hit this shot, or that sucker's getting away!"

"For the last time, it's _The _Duke!" Aang heard The Duke growling and could just barely make out the boy aiming through a pair of goggles.

"I don't care what it is, just hit the damn airship!"

The bomb flew, much faster this time, accompanied by a stronger than usual kickback. But it flew true, and the third airship went down in flames.

There were no cheers this time, though, as the remaining fighters were rapidly closing in. "Hit it, Teo! Get us out of here!" The Duke cried. The_ Ba Sing Se _gave a low growl and banked back towards the hideout. Aang could tell it was too slow, though, and that they would be overtaken soon.

Suddenly, the ship rotated in midair, giving the four on board a nice view of their pursuers.

"TEO! Now isn't the time to be a freaking flyboy!" The Duke screamed.

"I'm giving you a shot, idiot! Shoot them down!"

"I can't! We're out of missiles!"

"Shit…What about the cannon? We've still got a few bombs left; use it!"

"I can't do that either! When you over-pressurized the tank last time, it blew a valve or something! The range sucks now! If they get close enough for me to use it, it won't matter anymore!"

In the midst of their arguing, Aang suddenly had an idea. In order to pressurize the tanks, there had to be some place for the air to enter, right?

"Teo! Is there some kind of hole or something that the air goes in through?"

"There are intake valves on the underside of the ship…why?"

"Perfect! Thanks!" Aang popped his bubble and leapt out of his seat, clinging to the skin of the ship. He carefully crawled onto the ship's underbelly, digging his fingers into every available pockmark to gain purchase. He could hear Teo and The Duke alternating yelling things to him over his ear piece.

"Aang, watch the heat exhaust vents, they'll be red hot by now!"

"The auxiliary lift propeller is down there, too!"

"Whatever you do, don't touch the fuel hatch release lever!"

Aang pulled his earpiece off and let it dangle over his shoulder. He'd never be able to concentrate with both of them jabbering in his ear.

He found the intake valves easily enough; they looked like a pair of funnels sticking out of the ship's underside. Aang grabbed onto both of them with some difficulty, and sent two continuous jets of air into them. He counted to five, and then screamed at his earpiece, "FIRE NOW!"

A split second later, the world spun as the massive amount of pressure Aang had built was released, and the _Ba Sing Se_ was sent spinning through the air. Aang was able to catch sight of the bomb as it hit the forward fighter in the formation; the craft was not only hit, it was absolutely blown away. Its wing mates were hit by its wreckage, and one of them went down, too.

Aang suddenly realized he could hear his name being called. He pulled his ear piece back on. "What is it Teo?"

"Aang, that was the craziest, most wolfbat-shit insane thing I've ever seen anyone do! We could've been killed!" There was a pause. "DO IT AGAIN!"

"What? Could you make up your mind?" Aang vaguely heard Ty Lee yell something to Teo about not swearing at Aang.

"I'm serious! That release of pressure is the perfect way to get us out of here, and take a few of them down in the process! Do it again!"

Aang complied with relish, pumping air into the valves, yelling for The Duke to fire, and then hanging on for dear life as the ship spun through the air. Teo yelled random things as he struggled to steer his ship backwards, and still get it near their hideout. Eventually, the three remaining fighters peeled off and headed northwest, and Teo was able to turn his ship around and fly safely.

They landed back at the wreck, and Aang was immediately smothered as the other three stared cheering for him. Ty Lee gave a particularly rib-crushing hug. When the celebrations and expressions of relief at having escaped intact were over, Teo turned to survey the damage to his ship.

"How bad is it, Teo?" The Duke asked.

"Not too bad, Duke. I should be able to fix it in a few hours. And I'll need to, because I've got a killer idea to take advantage of our friend the Avatar." He grinned at Aang. "We're going to take out the Fire Nation's base in this forest, using you as the air pressurizer. They won't stand a chance!"

Aang returned the smile. "Excellent. Let's blow some stuff up."

It took Teo most of the afternoon to fix the ship, eventually gathering them all together to board. When Aang made to climb into his canopy, Teo stopped him.

"Think you can ride on the wing the whole way?"

Aang thought for a moment, and smiled. "I think I can handle it."

"Good. Let's go."

--

The Fire Nation base was a maintenance stop for airships traveling through the area, Teo explained. It was also where most of the northwestern division of Fire Nation troops on the continent were quartered. Therefore, if they gutted the base, it would remove a lot of Fire nation pressure from that part of the Earth Kingdom.

Ty Lee made the mistake on the way up of referring to it as the Earth Colonies, which very nearly caused Teo to barrel roll and dump her out. She stayed silent after that.

The base itself was mostly dark as they arrived later that evening, save for the torches that surrounded the barracks, and the large lanterns on the tops of the watchtowers. Teo laughed at the empty airship berths in the center of the base; their actions that afternoon had seen to that. Aang crawled onto the underside of the ship, and readied himself at the cannon's intake valves.

Teo gave the signal, and Aang pressurized the cannon. A second later, The Duke let fly, and the ship went careening backwards. Aang saw the bomb hit one of the towers, obliterating it in a flash of light.

Teo cackled with glee, and set the ship up for another shot. Another tower went down in the same fantastic fashion. By now, the base was in an uproar, soldiers pouring from the barracks, pilots running to their fighters, the remaining two towers attempting to get a bead on their attacker with their lanterns.

"Hit the fighters!" Teo yelled. Aang pressurized again, and the next bomb arced through the base to hit the airship hanger. The flammable gas in the fighters exploded spectacularly, obliterating the entire building. The few fighters that had taken off were swiftly shot down by The Duke with the missile launchers.

With no aircraft left to challenge them, they began dismantling the base bit by bit, hitting the barracks, officer's tent, and the two remaining towers at their leisure.

When the base was in flames, Teo pronounced their job done, and told Aang to get back inside. Aang climbed up to the third canopy and dropped into the seat next to Ty Lee. "Hey, hero," she quipped, pecking him on the cheek. Aang blushed.

"So, where to now, Avatar?" Teo asked.

"Well, we're still going to Ba Sing Se…"

"Hmm. I can't take you all the way there, but I can get you as far as Full Moon Bay. How's that?"

"Excellent. Thank a million, Teo," Aang said enthusiastically.

"Sure thing."

--

The trip to Full Moon Bay was longer than Aang would've liked. Even though he was pretty sure nothing could get them there faster than the _Ba Sing Se_, it was still far too long to be cramped in the hot canopy seat with Ty Lee. He longed to get out and stretch.

They landed some distance away from the entrance to the Bay; ferries could take people across to Ba Sing Se, but the harbor was actually hidden in a cave in the cliff side.

Teo put the ship down in a small clearing near the entrance to the harbor. When they assembled outside the ship, Teo asked Aang a question.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want to stay with us? We could use always use an extra hand fighting the Fire Nation. It won't be long before they start coming back."

Aang smiled. "As much as I want to, raiding Fire Nation supply lines and blowing up stuff is your duty in this fight, not mine. It would be so much fun, but I still have a lot of questions that need answering."

Teo nodded. "I can respect that." He reached behind his chair and produced the long thin dart launcher he'd carried on the first night. "And in that case, take this with you. To remember us."

Aang grinned, as he accepted the gift. "I don't think I could forget you guys if I tried. How do you work this thing, anyway?"

"It's easy. Oh, I guess you need some ammo, too." Teo handed a belt with loops full of metal darts to Aang, who buckled it around his waist. "You just load a dart into the chamber, here, then pump the handle a few times to pressurize it, and then just aim and pull the trigger." Teo pointed to a small cylinder on top of the launcher. "And this thing is a scope. If you look through it, it makes faraway targets easier to aim at. By the way, I call it a longshot. It can hit targets a hundred yards, away, and that's without airbender enhanced pressurization!"

Aang grinned. "Thanks, Teo."

The Duke reached into his pocket. "Oh, and if you ever want to see us again, just use this." He handed Aang a whistle, long and thin. "Four short and one long blast is the signal. Don't worry about the distance, we'll hear it."

Aang nodded. "Thank you, The Duke."

The Duke smirked at Teo. "See? He remembers!" Teo waved his hand.

"You're my second in command, I can call you what I want."

Aang and Ty Lee laughed.

"It's been a blast, guys, but I think it's time for us to get going." Ty Lee put a hand on Aang's shoulder.

Aang nodded. "Yeah. We'll see you guys again soon, I know it."

"I sure hope so. Take care, Avatar," Teo reached out and grasped Aang's hand firmly. The he did the same with Ty Lee. The Duke shook their hands as well, and then they were back in the _Ba Sing Se_, headed for their hideout.

Aang and Ty Lee turned towards the entrance to the harbor.

"Beyond that tunnel lies the last leg of our journey. Soon we'll be in Ba Sing Se, and I'll finally know for sure what my purpose is in this world."

"And you'll get to meet Azula! Don't forget that."

"Yeah, that too. You ready?" Aang looked up at Ty Lee.

Ty Lee grinned. "Definitely."

* * *

A/N: So, that was my absurdly steampunk inspired chapter for this arc. Hopefully it went done fairly easy, as I'll be the first to admit I'm not much of a writer when it comes to action scenes, which was ninety percent of the chapter. Thanks to Bluetiger for reviewing the last chapter, you should all be following his/her example!


	7. To Ba Sing Se

A/N: Weeeeellllll...About this chapter. It sort of wasn't in my original plan for this part of the story, but I found that just taking Aang and Ty Lee straight to Ba Sing Se from the entrance to Full Moon Bay was kind of a cop out, especially when the canon series takes two full episodes with that...so I came up with this. The resultant drop in quality (in my opinion, at least), should be blamed on my patchwork plot creation. I also don't feel I did two of my favorite minor characters (which you will find contained herein) justice, but at the end of the day, I was far to fed up with it to rewrite any more of it that I already had, so I went with this. As always, enjoy!

* * *

The waiting area for the ferries across Full Moon Bay was cramped, hot, and smelly. Hundreds of people were crammed into the relatively small space. In fact, the cave itself was quite large, but the sheer volume of people trying to get on the ferry meant that they were packed in shoulder to shoulder. Some of them looked like they'd been there a long time, or else come a great distance, as they appeared to be temporarily living out of tents hastily set up on the cave floor. Many of them gave Aang and Ty Lee looks as they passed, including some rather coveting looks for the long-shot slung over Aang's back.

"I didn't realize there were so many people that wanted to go to Ba Sing Se," Aang said curiously.

"A lot of them have had enough of Fire Nation controls of their towns, and think that moving to Ba Sing Se would make it better."

Aang looked at Ty Lee incredulously. "They do know that Ba Sing Se is controlled by the Fire Nation, right?"

Ty Lee laughed. "Of course they do. They just think that it'll be easier to escape the Fire Nation if they're in a huge city, as opposed to a small town. After all, the Fire Nation controls all of the Earth Colonies."

Aang grabbed Ty Lee's sleeve in sudden anger and spun her around to face him. "How many times to I have to say it?! It's the Earth _Kingdom_, not the Earth Colonies!" His face was livid.

Ty Lee scowled at him, and leaned down to hiss in his ear: "Not here, it isn't. If you want to pass as a Fire Nation colonist, you might want to start acting like one."

"What?"

"If any of the officials here catches you spouting off like that, they'll have you arrested. Anti-Fire Nation protests and public sentiment are illegal."

"Oh…" Aang looked embarrassed.

Ty Lee straightened up, a frown still on her face. "Yeah. So, you should probably keep your mouth shut." She surveyed the cavern. "C'mon, let's get tickets for the ferry."

The ticket official was a scrawny man with a pinched face and beady eyes, dressed in Fire Nation robes that were considerably more ostentatious than his job really demanded. He looked them over with a shrewd eye, finally pulling a form from a stack to his left.

"Names?" he barked, in a voice that perfectly matched his features.

Aang was sweating bullets, so it was a good thing Ty Lee had enough sense to answer. He kept trying not to stare at the armored security guards. Their armor was different from the soldiers they had encountered in the past, but they looked just as intimidating. He shivered.

Eventually, the antagonistic official tore a part of the form off and handed it to Ty Lee. "Two tickets for the midnight ferry. It leaves promptly, so don't be late!" He waved them off.

"The midnight ferry?! Couldn't you have gotten one that left in the morning? I wanted to sleep…" Aang complained.

"Hush," Ty Lee said. "You can sleep on the boat, and anyway, I don't like the looks of this place. Too many people with different motives. You get an eye for places you want to steer clear of when you work in the circus." She winked at Aang, and led him through the throngs until they reached the raised stone platform that the piers were attached to. Aang was reminded uncomfortably of the train station. He hoped nothing like that would happen this time.

--

They boarded the ferry safely about a half hour later, and immediately realized that just because the ferry was leaving at midnight didn't mean it was any less crowded. If anything, they were packed in even tighter aboard the old junk than they had been in the cave.

The ship itself was a creaking old Earth Kingdom ship that had been retrofitted with a Fire Nation steam engine. The effect was that the port side of the ship looked like it had had a huge chunk taken out of it, and the hole filled in with ugly machinery. Smokestacks capped its small superstructure, and it was propelled by a large paddle wheel attached to the engine.

Ty Lee found them a relatively open place to rest, and Aang immediately laid down, letting the steady thrumming of the ship's engines lull him into a deep sleep.

--

Aang awoke sometime later to shouts. He groggily forced open one eye to see Ty Lee confronting a figure about his size, wearing grubby Earth Kingdom garments and sporting a head of short, shaggy hair. Aang pushed himself up onto one elbow, trying to figure out what they were arguing about.

"You need to watch where you're going!" Ty Lee shouted.

"Why? We're all crammed on this damn boat together; I don't see why you get any special treatment!"

"You ran right into me! And now my food is all over the deck!" If Aang squinted, he could just make out a splatter of some unappetizing white sludge on the deck at Ty Lee's feet.

"Whatever. It's tasteless shit, anyway; you won't miss it." The guy smirked and turned to go, bringing a bowl to his own mouth to drink as he did so. Ty Lee grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around.

"You little-!"

Aang jumped up and ran as only an airbender could, jumping between them. He grabbed Ty Lee's wrist and forced it down, preventing her from paralyzing the poor guy.

"Ty Lee, stop. I'm sure it was an accident, and you don't need to paralyze the guy." He waited until Ty Lee backed off before turning to the guy she had been fighting with. "I'm sorry about my friend. We're just kinda stressed, and…" He suddenly noticed the angrily indignant look on the guy's face. "What?"

"I'm a girl, you ass!"

"Wha-?" Aang took a closer look and realized, yes, "he" was actually a girl. "Oh, spirits, I'm so sorry…"

"Save it," the girl said, waving off Aang's hasty bows and apologies. She walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

Aang glared at Ty Lee. "Good job. What was that about watching your step?" She blushed furiously.

--

Aang tried to go back to sleep, but found it impossible; the passengers were restless and rowdy, and every time he tried to lie down, someone would run along and kick him or something. Finally, Aang gave up, settling for looking out over the glassy surface of the bay. Above, the moon hung in the sky, enormous and bright. It would be full in a few days, Aang noticed.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see the girl that had been fighting with Ty Lee. "Whoa!" he yelled.

"Hey, hey, relax," she said, holding up her hands to placate him. "I'm not here to fight. I wanted to apologize for before. It was an accident. I'm just really…" she trailed off.

"Stressed?" Aang supplied.

"Yeah," she finished. "By the way, I'm Smellerbee." She held out her hand, which Aang gladly shook. "And this is Longshot." Behind her was a tall, saturnine boy about the same age as Smellerbee, perhaps a little older, wearing a wide, conical hat, and a bow slung over his shoulder. He also proffered his hand, smiling and inclining his head respectfully at Aang. Aang returned the smile with interest.

"I'm Aang. So, I guess you guys are heading to Ba Sing Se, too?"

"Yeah. We've been living in a little town west of the Si Wong for a while, but those Fire Nation bastards really started cracking down on us a few months ago. So we decided to leave. We're hoping Ba Sing Se will be better. It is the biggest city in the Earth Kingdom. Maybe we can lose them."

Aang suddenly grinned. "Hey, you called it the Earth Kingdom!"

Smellerbee smirked. "Of course I did. Firebenders can torture me all they want, but I'm never calling it the Earth Colonies."

"Nice."

Ty Lee showed up then, and jumped back when she saw Smellerbee. "You again! What do you want now?!"

"To apologize." Smellerbee thrust out her hand, though it seemed to be costing her some amount of pride to do so. "You were right, it was an accident."

"About ti—oof!" Aang sent an air-slap at her. "I mean…thank you, uh…what was your name again?"

"Smellerbee. And this is Longshot."

"I'm Ty Lee." As she was shaking Longshot's hand, her eyes lit up. "Hey, Aang, isn't that the name of that thing Teo gave you?"

"Oh, yeah!" Aang unslung the long-shot from his back and showed it to Smellerbee and Longshot.

"What is it?" Smellerbee asked.

"It's a weapon. My friend called it a long-shot, because it shoots really far. See, it fires these." Aang pulled a dart from the belt around his waist and held it up. Smellerbee took and began examining it.

"Nice weight and balance…how does it work?" She handed the dart back.

"Like this." Aang popped open the chamber and loaded the dart. Then, remembering what Teo had showed him, he closed the chamber, pumped the handle on top of the barrel a few times, and took aim over the railing. Ty Lee suddenly put a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait! What if one of the guards sees you? I know the Fire Nation doesn't have these, but they might take it…"

Smellerbee snorted. "Don't worry, Pinky, the guards on these boats are thicker than a platypus bear's skull. They won't notice." She motioned for Aang to continue.

Aang found he could aim better using the scope if he rested the butt of the long-shot against his shoulder. Then he only had to tilt his head slightly to see through the scope. He took aim, and pulled the trigger. A hiss came from the chamber, and the dart flew out of sight over the water.

"Wow," Smellerbee said, impressed. "That's cool. You might even be able to beat Longshot here with something like that."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked.

"Longshot's the best archer in the world," Smellerbee bragged. "You aren't gonna find anyone that can shoot straighter or aim better than him." Longshot put a hand on her shoulder, a slight frown on his face. "What? It's true! In fact, I bet he could still beat your fancy contraption with his plain old bow and arrows!"

"What will we shoot at?"

"Those." Smellerbee pointed across the water, and Aang saw a large group of rocks jutting up from the water. Scraggly trees grew from cracks in the rocks. "I know Longshot can hit those. Can you?"

Aang nodded. "Sure I can! Let's do it."

The found a place out of sight of the guards, and took aim over the railing. Aang quickly discovered that Longshot was every bit as good as Smellerbee had said he was, even if he had been reluctant to admit it. Every arrow he fired hit a tree. Aang hit most of his shots, too, but he knew that was more luck and Teo's advanced designs than his own skill. After missing a few, and feeling his cheeks burn at Smellerbee's taunts, Aang decided it was time for a little covert operations. When he loaded his next shot, he pumped the handle a few times, but also passed his hand over the chamber, using his airbending to increase the pressure almost to the breaking point. When he fired, the kickback knocked him over, and the dart fired ripped a limb off the tree Aang had been aiming for.

"Aang!" Ty Lee chastised. "You can't cheat!"

Aang's breath caught, just as Smellerbee grabbed him from behind. There was a knife in her hand that had not been there before. "You little-!"

"No, no, the thing just malfunctioned, I swear!"

"Aang, don't lie, you were using your…" Ty Lee seemed to realize what she was saying and stopped.

"Using your what?" Smellerbee pressed.

"My…airbending."

To his surprise, Smellerbee started to laugh. "Airbending? That's funny, Aang. What were you really doing?" But she fell silent when she saw that Aang had taken off his headband and was holding his hair back, revealing the tip of the blue arrow still tattooed to his scalp. "You're…you're the…Avatar?" Her voice was almost inaudible. Aang nodded, and Smellerbee suddenly bowed very deeply. "It's an honor, Avatar."

"Oh, spirits, stop that," Aang said hastily. He felt his cheeks growing warm. "I'm just a kid, not some great, all-knowing super-being."

"You are to us," Smellerbee said honestly. "We thought the Avatar was dead. To think that you're still alive! What are you planning on doing in Ba Sing Se?"

"I don't know," Aang replied. "I still have a lot of questions about what I'm supposed to do, as the Avatar. I'm hoping Ba Sing Se is the place to find the answers." He retied his headband to hide the arrow.

Smellerbee opened her mouth to say something, but there was a sudden commotion from the front of the boat. The foursome looked to see a huge Fire Navy warship coming to a stop directly in front of them. There was a groan as the ferry's engines halted.

"That can't be good…" Ty Lee whispered. She looked at Aang. "You don't think they could've figured out you were here?"

"How could they have? We haven't used our real names since before the train station," Aang replied. "There's no way they know we're here."

As he finished, a group of Fire Navy soldiers boarded the ferry from their ship, making use of a bridge that had been laid down between the two. The leader called out in a gruff voice.

"We have reason to believe that the Avatar is hiding aboard this boat!" The passengers immediately began chattering to one another, this coming as news to the vast majority of them. The Avatar had returned? It wasn't possible…he'd been gone for a hundred years…surely he must be dead…but maybe not!

"Silence!" The lead soldier barked. "This is not a time for discussion! All you need to know is that the Avatar has committed numerous crimes against the Fire Nation, and is therefore an enemy of the state! His capture is of utmost importance! And you will all cooperate while we root him out. Now I'm speaking to you, Avatar! If you do not come forward and present yourself," the soldier suddenly grabbed a nearby man, huddled on the deck, "then this man will be executed. The longer you wait, the more people will die! How many can you bear to be responsible for, Avatar?"

Aang felt liked someone had just run him through with a sword. "I have to turn myself in. I can't let these people be killed to protect me."

Smellerbee grabbed his shoulder. "No, Aang! You're too important to this world to be captured! Let me do it! I'll pretend to be you, and then you and Ty Lee can get away!"

"And what about you?" Aang asked, mirroring the question Longshot seemed to want to ask. "I don't think those soldiers have any intention of keeping the Avatar alive for long. You'll die, and I'll be the one responsible. No way. I won't let you."

Smellerbee looked like she had been convinced. On the bow of the ship, the soldier cried out, "I'm waiting, Avatar! You have two minutes left before this man receives an untimely death!"

Aang sighed. "Okay. I guess—"

But at that moment, Smellerbee took off running towards the bow, yelling. "Wait, wait! I'm here!"

The soldier looked pleased and incredulous at the same time. "You're the Avatar?"

Smellerbee nodded. "Yeah. Now, will you let him go?"

"Yeah, we'll let him go. As for you though…things are about to get pretty hairy." The other two soldiers lunged forward and grabbed Smellerbee, while their leader tossed his captive back onto the deck. "Let's get out of here."

They were gone in seconds, and Aang, Ty Lee, and Longshot were left standing in shock.

--

The ferry completed its trip across the Bay soon after, and Aang, Ty Lee, and Longshot disembarked dejectedly.

Longshot glared at Aang.

"Look, I know, I'm sorry, but she just…ran off! How was I supposed to know she would pull something like that?" Longshot just shook his head.

They stood silently for a few minutes until Ty Lee said, "So…what do we do now?"

Longshot looked at Aang again, and in that look, Aang saw the reason why he never talked.

"We rescue Smellerbee." Aang said.

--

After some brief searching, the threesome found a narrow ledge that wound up the side of the cliff near the harbor they had landed at. They climbed quickly, Longshot leading, using his sharp eyes to search for the warship that had taken Smellerbee. He stopped them when they reached the peak of the path; not only was it raised, it was also blocked from view by a wall of stone about chest high, like a natural safety railing.

Longshot pointed out over the Bay, and Aang was just able to make out the shape of the warship steaming northwest, towards the Serpent's Pass. The first gray haze of dawn was on the horizon.

Longshot suddenly held out his hand. Aang looked at him in confusion before Longshot glanced pointedly at the long-shot still strapped to Aang's back.

"Oh…um, are you sure you know how to work it?" Longshot nodded, and passed his hand over the chamber. Aang realized he would have to pressurize the chamber in order for its range to be long enough.

Longshot set himself against the wall, taking aim. He nodded, and Aang passed his hand over the chamber. Longshot fired, then waved for Aang to go. Ty Lee cried, "You have to go get Smellerbee, Aang! Longshot can cause a diversion, but she can't get away on her own!"

Aang nodded, and threw his glider out over the precipice, leaping after it. It felt exhilarating to fly as an airbender for the first time in weeks, and he almost forgot what he was doing in his joy. At the last second, he dove, getting as close to the water as possible to avoid detection while speeding towards the ship. As he got closer, he heard shouts and clang of weapons that meant a scuffle onboard, and knew he had to hurry. Those soldiers wouldn't hesitate to fry Smellerbee, especially once they realized she wasn't the Avatar.

Aang pulled up at the last second, skimming the metal skin of the ship and retracting his glider in time to land on the deck. It was chaos. Soldiers were running around in a panic, trying to figure out how one of their men had been killed, apparently by an invisible assailant. They were so worked up that they didn't even notice Aang for several seconds, giving Aang time to spot Smellerbee, viciously defending herself with two knives against a trio of soldiers.

Aang whipped his staff around in time to deflect a fire blast, and then brought it down to the deck, creating a powerful gust that cleared a path through the firebenders to his target. He called out to Smellerbee, opening his glider again and leaping over her.

"Jump!" he shouted, and Smellerbee leapt up to grab onto his ankle. Aang compensated for the extra weight, and they managed to glide out over the water, though it was a little shaky.

Aang dodged left and right to avoid the shots fired from the deck of the ship, urging them on with some tricky airbending. Aang suddenly cried out in pain as a fireball grazed his shoulder. He gritted his teeth, but was unable to keep them up in the air. The glider and its two occupants fell into the Bay.

Aang heard cries coming from the ship, muffled by the rushing water. They were coming for them…no…

That was when Aang's vision became a blur of energy, and his arrows and eyes began to glow.

--

Smellerbee hit the water hard, her breath shocked out of her by the cold. She surfaced with a gasp, coughing to rid her lungs of water. She heard shouts coming from the soldiers, and turned to find Aang. They had to get back in the air if they were going to escape…

"Aang! Aang? Where are you…" Smellerbee trailed off as a powerful glow in the shape of a person burst into existence beneath her. Her eyes widened as the glow rose up, breaking the surface. "Aang…?" Smellerbee whispered. No way…

Suddenly a high wind kicked up, swirling over the water, whipping up whitecaps. The wind coalesced around Aang's glowing form, forming a powerful vortex. Smellerbee could feel herself being drawn into it, and struggled to swim away. It turned out to be no threat, though, as Aang immediately began moving away, the vortex touching down to create a huge waterspout. The firebenders on the ship began launching fireballs at the windstorm, but they were extinguished on contact. Smellerbee watched Aang raise his arms, waving them in a strange pattern. The water gathered by the vortex spun away, forming a twisting snake of fluid in the air. With a final motion, Aang attacked, and the water stabbed down into the warship's superstructure.

There was a colossal explosion as the attack struck the ship's engines. The stern of the ship was blown to pieces, shrapnel raining down into the Bay. The severed bow of the ship sank in moments.

The vortex surrounding Aang died away, and the glow faded. Aang himself sank back into the water, suddenly looking very limp. Smellerbee swam over to him.

"Aang! Are you okay?" Aang groaned and shook his head.

"Unh…yeah…I think so…"

"That was amazing! What the hell _was _that?!"

"It's called…ahh…it's called the Avatar State," Aang explained. "It's like my special Avatar power." He started treading water. "But now, we need to get out of here. I'm sure there are more Fire Navy ships in the area, and they'll be here soon to investigate."

Smellerbee nodded. "Yeah."

--

They rendezvoused with Longshot and Ty Lee back up on the ridge just as dawn was breaking. Ty Lee hugged Aang hard. "That was crazy! I saw you go into the Avatar State…how did you blow up that ship?"

Aang shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I don't really know. But…I think I might have used waterbending."

He turned to Longshot and Smellerbee, who were hugging tightly. "So, what are you guys going to do now?"

Smellerbee shrugged. "We're not sure. But we'll figure something out, I know it."

Longshot stepped forward then, holding out his hand. "Thank you, Aang. I don't know how I could repay you." His voice was quiet, but full of strength and sincerity. Aang gaped, despite himself, but managed to shake Longshot's hand.

"Hey! You just talked!" Ty Lee said. Aang elbowed her in the ribs. Smellerbee just laughed and smiled at Longshot.

"Yeah, he does that sometimes." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. Longshot blushed, covering it by holding the long-shot out to Aang. Aang pushed it back.

"No, you keep it. I think you could use it for more good than me." Longshot nodded, slinging the weapon over his shoulder.

--

They said their goodbyes in the ferry dock, the entrance to Ba Sing Se. Aang offered Smellerbee and Longshot a place in their group, but they politely declined. Smellerbee said they needed to find their own way in the world.

When the two had departed, Aang and Ty Lee looked around the dock. Off on the far side of the cavern, they could see large train cars, like the train they had tried to ride weeks ago, only smaller. Travelers were boarding them for Ba Sing Se.

"I guess where we go," Ty Lee said quietly. They exchanged a look. Now that they were here, things seemed a lot more complicated. In the city beyond lay Aang's destiny, and Ty Lee's as well, since she had thrown her lot in with him.

"Well, time to go," Aang said. The two headed towards the monorail station, and their future.

* * *

A/N: As always, thank you to my small but devoted cadre of readers for supporting me in my endeavor (Bluetiger, you are the _man_!). Keep up the support, and please review!


	8. The Princess

The tram ride from the ferry terminal was a fairly long one, even given the tram's impressive speed. From the cave, they crossed a wide, savannah-like area, mostly devoid of plants, and very dusty. The outer wall of Ba Sing Se was visible from the time they left the cave, and grew ever more impressive as they drew closer. When they passed through it, Aang heard various passengers oooing and aaahing.

Beyond the outer wall were miles and miles, perhaps hundreds, of farmland, rolling hills painted with the colors of various crops, with the occasional homestead here and there. Livestock were present also, as well as some animals that Aang figured were wild, but not dangerous; after all, the space was certainly large enough to support them.

The inner wall approached rapidly, and they passed through a small opening in it that Aang was fairly sure was there solely so the city on the other side would seem bigger. It was completely unnecessary, as it turned out, because Ba Sing Se was more than big enough to dwarf any opening they could enter through.

Aang heard Ty Lee exclaiming excitedly about the sights down below the elevated tracks, but Aang couldn't bring himself to look at the city for too long. To him it was ugly and unsettling. Everywhere were squat Fire Nation factories, boldly proclaiming their national allegiance with a red insignia on every expanse of wall big enough to hold one. There were Fire Nation style houses too, all red shingles and pagoda architecture. Here and there were places were the Earth Kingdom settlements had remained intact, but these served only to make the Fire Nation buildings look that much more like an encroaching parasite.

Aang couldn't help but think that there was a small possibility that Roku had been right.

--

The tram dropped them off at a large station in the smoky, factory riddled Lower Ring of the city. At least, that was what the tram conductor called it when the guards onboard forced them all off. Apparently travelers to Ba Sing Se weren't ranked very highly.

Aang and Ty Lee wandered away from the station, through the crowded, bustling streets. It was unlike anywhere Aang had ever been before, and he was fairly sure he didn't like it. He recalled briefs snippets of lessons the monks in the Southern Air Temple had taught him about the great Earth Kingdom capital; most of them revolved around the way the city was split into three levels, based on the prosperity of the inhabitants. The Lower Ring was obviously the poorer part of the city. Aang also remembered the monks saying the three rings were separated by walls; if Aang looked to his right, he could just make out the wall dividing the Lower Ring from the Middle Ring.

Ty Lee bought them bread rolls from a street vendor, and they sat down on the cobblestones to eat their breakfast. As they did, Ty Lee peered into the pouch she kept their money in.

"We're almost broke," she commented.

"Can you get in touch with your friend Azula? Maybe she could send us some money." If Azula was really as powerful as Ty Lee insisted, surely it wouldn't be difficult to get them money.

Ty Lee winced. "I could, I guess…but…Azula…she likes to do things on her own time. I'll send her a message telling her we're here, but I'd rather not ask her for anything."

Aang rolled his eyes. "Whatever. We still need a place to stay."

They finished their food, and went in search of a messenger house for Ty Lee. When the messenger was on his way, they began aimlessly wandering the streets searching for some place that they might be able to spend the night.

--

They spent most of the day searching for an inn or hostel or somewhere that they could spend the night. Aang was exhausted, and, though she didn't show it, he was pretty sure Ty Lee was, too. They hadn't slept properly since two nights before, at Teo's hideout, and it was really taking its toll.

Aang was just examining a cart of dragonfruit and idly wondering if he could get away with stealing one when he heard a crash behind him. He whipped around and saw Ty Lee sprawled in a heap on the ground, next to a young man about her age, dressed in rough Earth Kingdom garb. A basket and several items of produce were scattered around them.

"Ty Lee! Are you okay?" Aang ran over to her, but she was already getting to her feet.

"I'm fine; it was an accident, that's all. What about you?" she asked the guy she'd bumped into. He got to his feet with surprising agility, chuckling.

"I'm good, don't worry. I don't think I can say the same for my produce, though," he gestured at the fallen fruits and vegetables, several of which were squished.

"I'm sorry about that; I wasn't watching where I was going…" Ty Lee bent to help him retrieve the usable stuff and put it back in the basket.

"No need for an apology; like you said, accidents happen." The guy seemed very good natured, and when he stood up again, Aang got a good look at him. He was tall and very tan, with lank brown hair and vivid blue eyes. Aang spoke without thinking.

"Hey! You're from the Water Tribe!"

The guy looked at him in surprise, then started to laugh. "Sorry, kid, but no. I get that all the time, though."

"But, your eyes…your skin…no other people have blue eyes," Aang said confusedly.

"Well, my grandfather was from the Water Tribe, but I'm Earth Colonies, born and bred here in Ba Sing Se." He hitched a large, slightly goofy grin on his face.

Aang was about to correct him on the use of the word colonies, but Ty Lee anticipated it and slapped her hand over his mouth. "Interesting. What's your name?" she asked to cover the movement.

"Qing Wo Gan, at your service," the guy said. He did a theatric bow and proffered his hand for them to shake. "And what are your names?"

"Well, mine's Ty Lee, and this is—ow!" Aang dug his elbow into Ty Lee's ribs, hard. "What was that for?"

"Sorry, I slipped," Aang replied. "My name's Kien, by the way." He shook Qing's hand. As he did, he happened to notice a man in deep green robes slouching in the shade of a market stall. The robes were emblazoned with an Earth Kingdom insignia, and the man's wide conical hat had a jade tassel on it. Aang thought he saw the man meet his eyes, before Qing's talking distracted him.

"So, what brings you two to Ba Sing Se?"

"We just moved here," Ty Lee said, apparently recovered from her slip up with her name. "We were actually just looking for a place to stay. You know any good, cheap inns around here?"

Qing smiled and snapped his fingers. "I'll do you one better. There's a house not far from here lacking in an owner. You guys can take up there. Follow me!" He pivoted, again with agility that belied his appearance, and started away from them. Aang and Ty Lee hurried after. Aang snuck a glance at the man in the green robes, just for a second look, and was surprised to see he was gone.

Ty Lee spoke quietly to him, so that Qing wouldn't hear. "So, you think that guy is Water Tribe?"

"He has to be. Someone two generations removed wouldn't be that dark skinned." Aang frowned. "The monks taught us that the Water Tribes were very proud people, not ones to take up with members of another nation."

Ty Lee shrugged. "There's a first time for everything, and if it was going to happen anywhere, it would be here. Ba Sing Se is one huge stew pot."

"Maybe. It bugs me that he said Earth Colonies, too."

Ty Lee rolled her eyes. "Not that again! What did I tell you about your little nationalist streak? You might as well be in the Fire Nation capital for all the good it'll do you."

"I know, but it goes beyond that. Smellerbee and Longshot are natives of the Kingdom, and Smellerbee was vehement about it. I can't accept that another native would give in so easily."

"Not everyone is as idealistic as you, Aang. Some people just give in to make life easier. It's not pretty, but it happens."

Aang's only response was to snort derisively. As he did, he caught sight of someone walking behind them. A man wearing green robes.

"Shoot…Ty Lee; I think we're being followed. There's a guy behind us wearing green robes; you see him?"

"Yeah…"

"I saw him when Qing introduced himself, but he disappeared."

"Aang, that doesn't—"

"Call me Kien."

"But—"

"Just do it!"

"Fine, _Kien_, what makes you think he's following us?"

"Just a feeling I have. His clothes are way too nice for him to live here, and he's wearing Earth Kingdom emblems on his robes."

"Maybe he's some kind of police officer. Does it really matter? I think you're overreacting, Aang."

"Maybe, but just look at him, something about him doesn't—"

"He's gone."

"What?"

Aang whipped around and saw that the man had indeed vanished. He turned back when he heard Qing's voice up ahead.

"Hey, you guys coming?"

"Yeah, just a second!" Ty Lee grabbed Aang's arm. "C'mon, Aang, forget about him. We can talk about it later." Aang shrugged off her grip and redoubled his pace after Qing.

"Something really weird is going on here."

--

The house Qing led them to was indeed empty, though it didn't look like it had been for very long. Qing walked them to the front door.

"Here we are. One abandoned house, ready for new tenants."

"Abandoned?" Ty Lee looked concerned. "I don't know about that…what if the owner comes back?"

Aang thought such a concern was somewhat silly at this point, and apparently, so did Qing, who chuckled darkly.

"You don't have to worry about that. I think the guy got arrested, actually."

"What for?" Aang asked, sudden images of a body in the closet popping into his head.

"I don't know. The Dai Li raided the house a few weeks ago, and he hasn't been seen since."

"Well, that reassuring," Aang said tersely.

Qing laughed for real this time. "Don't worry. My sister and I live just a few blocks that way, across from the antique shop. You can't miss it. I'll be there if you need anything."

"Thank you so much," Ty Lee gushed, giving him a hug.

"No problem. I'll see you guys around!"

--

Aang wasted no time in finding the nearest bed in the house and collapsing on it. After Qing had left, they'd wondered briefly about whether or not the door would be locked, but it wasn't. Aang and Ty Lee both probably would've found this suspicious if not for how tired they were.

When Aang woke up a few hours later, it was dark, and Ty Lee was gone. He found a note on the kitchen table saying that she had gone out to stretch her legs and would be back later. Aang found this very odd, they'd only been walking everywhere for the past month and a half; you'd think she'd be sick of it by now.

Aang decided to explore the house, and discovered that, if the "Dai Li" Qing had mentioned were the local police, they must be very sloppy, as most of the man's possessions still appeared to be in the house. Aang found candles, food, most of it quite edible, and clothing in the wardrobes in both bedrooms. At first he was merely bemused, but became extremely suspicious and more than a little creeped out when he tried on one of the tunics in the bedroom he'd slept in out of curiosity and found that it fit him perfectly. He stopped exploring after that, flopping into a chair by the bedroom window with a candle lit to think.

So far nothing they'd encountered in Ba Sing Se was what it seemed. There was Qing, who, while quite friendly and helpful, was very obviously hiding something. He looked like a full-blooded Water Tribesman, yet claimed he had been born in the Earth Kingdom (Earth _Colonies_, a snarky little voice said in Aang's head). Then there was this house, which Qing had seemed to lead them to completely by random chance, and yet was full of provisions they'd needed for weeks, all of their stuff having come to Ba Sing Se with Appa.

Aang thought hard. Was it possible that Qing had led them here on purpose? Could he know who they really were? Aang didn't see how. They had never met him before, and he had shown no signs of recognition, barring him being a really good actor.

And then…and then there was that man in green. Aang refused to believe he was some kind of innocent coincidence, even though he really had no reason to believe otherwise. Just something about him…

Aang suddenly noticed a figure standing on the other side of the road from their house. He looked, and immediately lost whatever tiny amount of doubt there had been about the man in green, because he was standing right there, causally surveying the house.

Aang sat back in the chair with a sigh, raking his fingers through his hair. So they were being watched. But why, and by whom? The men in green were not the police, Aang was certain about that. He'd seen a patrol of Fire Nation soldiers go by during his search of the house. And this man just seemed far too sinister to be anything normal.

To get away from the sight of the guy in his peripheral vision, Aang got up and wandered over to the wardrobe. Inside it, something caught his eye. He reached into the rack of clothing and pulled out a green tunic. His mind registered that it was the very same tunic he had pulled on when Ty Lee had bought all those clothes, months ago. His body realized the significance of this before his mind did, a crawling feeling of dread snaking up his spine. When he did realize what it meant, Aang ran to the window, abandoning all pretense of subtlety, and was quite unsurprised to see that the man in green had vanished.

Aang pulled the bison whistle from its place inside the pocket of his shirt. He was positive that if he blew it, there would be no one to answer its call.

--

Aang went to bed shortly after his revelation, but couldn't sleep. Instead, he tossed and turned, worried sick with thoughts that his closest friend was in the hands of the enemy.

The most infuriating thing about the whole situation was how little Aang knew. He knew that he and Ty Lee had been led here, somehow. Qing was clearly a part of that, but Aang couldn't get over how innocent the guy had seemed. There hadn't been any hint of a deception, no falseness to his interaction with them at all. But what were the odds of a random kind stranger leading them right where their enemy needed them to go? Aang was unsure exactly who to blame in this situation. The Fire Nation had so far seemed something less than cunning, relying on their machines and brute force to get the job done. But what quarrel would the men in green have with them? How would they even know who he was? Unless the men in green were working for the Fire Nation…but that still wouldn't explain how they had recognized him.

Aang gave up shortly before Ty Lee returned. He was sitting in his bed with the covers tangled around him when Ty Lee knocked and entered.

"Thought you might be hungry," she said, setting a tray of biscuits and a small pot of tea on the table by the window.

"You knew I was awake?" Aang asked. He was momentarily surprised at how weary he sounded.

"Your aura takes on a certain…flavor, I guess you'd call it, when you're asleep. What's wrong?" Ty Lee sat down in the chair by the table.

Aang frowned. "Appa's been captured."

"What? How? Didn't you tell him to keep out sight, and hide when he got here?"

"I did, but I guess they found him anyway." Aang got up and pulled the tunic from the wardrobe, tossing it to Ty Lee. "It's the one I was wearing when we ran into Captain Xi."

"Spirits…" Ty Lee whispered. "But…what is it doing here?"

"I don't know!" Aang said in sudden anger. He growled and flopped back onto the bed. "I've been turning it over in my head for hours…it's all so confusing." He sat up and made eye contact. "By the way, we're being watched. By that man in green."

"How do you know?"

"Maybe because I saw him?"

"That doesn't necessarily—"

"Yes it does! Spirits, Ty Lee, open your eyes! There's something really scary going on in this city. Think about it. We're looking for a place to stay, and we just happen to run into someone that knows an abandoned house? That just _happens_ to be full of supplies, not to mention all the stuff Appa was carrying when I sent him here?"

Ty Lee looked a little freaked out. "Wait…you think Qing is some kind of spy? But he seemed so nice! I know that's not any indicator, but his aura was totally pure."

Aang growled in frustration. "No, I don't. I think Qing is innocent, which just makes this situation even weirder. I don't know how, but I think Qing was being controlled somehow."

"Controlled?"

"I don't get it either. But it's the only thing that makes sense."

"I hate to tell you, Aang, but your whole theory is sort of messed up."

"Yeah, I know." Aang managed a tired smile. "But I have to know what's happened to Appa. We have to find him."

"Agreed. We can ask Azula. She has all the resources we need."

"Ty Lee…who is Azula, exactly? You keep referring to all this power she has…who is she?"

"She's the governor of Ba Sing Se. She's also…she's the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation."

Aang gaped. "Are you serious?! And we've been traveling just to see her this whole time?! Ty Lee, the Fire Nation is hunting me! By the looks of this situation, they've trapped us in Ba Sing Se! What makes you think it wasn't all Azula's doing?!"

"Azula isn't a bad person, Aang. She's ambitious, and cunning, and very smart, but I'm sure she'll help you if you just explain the situation to her."

"And what about what Roku told me? He said it was my duty as the Avatar to restore the four elements to their proper balance, and to do that, I have to take down the Fire Nation! Will your friend be willing to just step down like that?"

Ty Lee averted her eyes. "I…I don't know, Aang. But Azula's been my friend since we were schoolmates at the Royal Academy. She wouldn't turn her back on that."

"Well, I guess I have no choice but to trust you. I don't like it, but…" Aang trailed off. Suddenly, he collapsed on his bed, his eyes streaming tears. "This is so messed up! Why am _I_ the one who has to fix the world?! I'm just one kid! One little twelve year old kid! Who cares if I'm the Avatar?! I can't do it by myself!"

"And you aren't. Haven't I been with you this whole time?"

"Yeah, you have. But it's still…it's just so much…"

Ty Lee slid off her chair and pulled Aang into a hug. "Don't worry Aang. We'll see this through together. I'm confident things will work out."

--

They both fell asleep not long after, and were awakened the next morning by a loud knock on the door. Aang stumbled downstairs to answer it.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he groaned as another knock sounded. He opened the door, and was faced three tall firebenders and one rather regal looking official in Fire Nation robes. Aang cried out and assumed a defensive stance, but he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Aang, I think we're safe." Ty Lee smiled own at him.

Aang relaxed by a hair, as the official addressed Ty Lee.

"Are you the Lady Ty Lee?"

"Yeah…"

"My Lady, Crown Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, Governor of the Earth Colonies, has issued a summons for you and your…friend." He cast the barest hint of a condescending look at Aang. "You are to appear before her in her chambers at the Royal Palace. Your transportation has been provided." Aang noticed that there was an ostrich-horse drawn carriage waiting on the street.

"Okay. Can you give us a minute to freshen up?" The official nodded, and Ty Lee shut the door. "C'mon, Aang! We don't want to keep Azula waiting!"

"Ty Lee! Are you crazy?! Those guys…those are firebenders! I…I…this is…"

"Aang." Ty Lee laid her hands on his shoulder and looked him right in the eyes. "I swear that nothing is going to happen. You'll be fine. Azula will take care of everything." Aang managed to relax after a moment, and they were back downstairs and ready to leave a few minutes later.

--

The ride to the Royal Palace was nerve racking. Aang rode in the carriage with Ty Lee, the official, and one of the firebenders. The firebender wore armor that was different from the armor on soldiers they'd seen before; it was more ornate, more scary-looking. The official kept casting looks at Aang, as if he was thoroughly unimpressed by what he saw. Ty Lee kept an arm tight around his shoulders for support.

They passed through the Middle and Upper Rings of the city, and Aang was only somewhat surprised to see that the closer they got to the palace, the more the population consisted of Fire Nation colonists. He worked to keep his temper under control as they rode through the Upper Ring; the opulent houses were all Fire Nation built.

The palace itself was enormous, surrounded by a huge wall hung with Fire Nation banners everywhere. They passed through a large gate, and Aang noticed a whole group of men in green robes milling around near it. He nudged Ty Lee, and she nodded in recognition.

They reached the palace and left the carriage. Aang, Ty Lee, and the official walked out in front, the soldiers flanking them and bringing up the rear. The official led them up the grand stairs to the palace entrance, through magnificent hallways and doors covered in red and gold livery, and finally into an enormous room, the far end dominated by a huge dais sculpted into the form of two massive golden dragons.

On the dais was an enormous throne, covered in gold and red accents. The floor of the room was made from some kind of black stone, polished to a mirror shine. On the walls were banners depicting haughty looking men and women, all in red and gold robes. In between the tapestries were tall, ornate braziers, each with a large, blue flame. Aang found it odd that there was so much red a gold and black, and yet the flames were blue.

"You may approach me."

The voice startled Aang, and he realized that the room was so lavish that he'd completely missed the figure sitting on the throne. He followed Ty Lee and the official forward. The official spoke.

"My Lady," he said, kneeling down placing his forehead to the floor. "I present to you the Lady Ty Lee, and…her companion."

Ty Lee immediately followed his lead and knelt. "It's an honor to see you again, Azula."

Aang felt his gut twist as he realized they expected him to kneel as well. Well, they could forget it; there was no way he was bowing to some Fire Nation—his thoughts were cut off when one of the soldiers pushed him down.

"You will kneel when you are brought before the Princess!"

Aang's cheeks were burning, but before he could kneel lower, Azula spoke again.

"That won't be necessary. He is our honored guest, after all." There was a strange tone in the words "honored guest". "Now, leave us."

The official stood and bowed himself out. The soldiers and the guards standing at the entrance followed him. Aang stood with Ty Lee, and got his first good look at Azula.

She was dressed in ceremonial armor, red with black shoulder guards trimmed in gold. Her hair was jet black and elaborately styled, her topknot held in place with a gold flame insignia. She rose and descended from the dais slowly, taking measured steps. She was quite beautiful, but Aang felt decidedly nervous looking at her. He had a strong feeling this encounter would not end well.

"Ty Lee, my old friend, it has been too long. How are you?" Azula's voice was smooth and honeyed.

"I'm well, thank you. It's so good to see you." Ty Lee was grinning from ear to ear. Azula reached her and they embraced.

"Likewise. I hope your journey here was not too much trouble?"

Ty Lee shrugged. "It had its rough spots."

"As all long journeys do." Azula turned her attention to Aang. He gripped his staff harder, and stood straight. "And the Avatar. I must say, you aren't quite what I expected."

"You mean that you were hoping I'd be more impressive."

"Not at all," Azula said flippantly. "I was merely referring to the fact that you should be an old man after more than a century."

"I was frozen in an iceberg until two months ago."

"Ah, that would explain it." Azula turned and began walking back up to her throne. Aang and Ty Lee approached until they were standing at the foot of the dais. "Tell me, Avatar, what do you think of my magnificent city?"

"I have a question for you first." Aang realized he was being rude, but he found he didn't much care. "Who are the men in green robes?"

Azula looked mildly surprised. "Them? They are the Dai Li. Before I became governor, they served the Earth King as bodyguards and informants, a secret police of sorts, meant to keep the city running properly. I chose to allow them to continue their work under my rule. They are quite efficient and good at what they do." She smirked. "Now, I believe I asked you a question."

"You want to know what I think of your city?" Aang felt his anger rising. How could actually ask him that with a straight face? It was absurd. "I think it stinks! You've forced all the Earth Kingdom citizens to live in squalor while you _invaders_ live in luxury! You've destroyed one of the greatest societies that's ever existed! You've crushed the freedom of an entire continent!" He started pacing in front of Azula, waving his hands wildly. "You sit back in your palace and do nothing while thousands of decent people live in poor shacks! And it isn't just limited to Ba Sing Se. We've seen towns all over the Earth Kingdom that cower under the thumb of oppressive occupation armies! You want to know what I think?! You're all monsters!"

Azula seemed almost amused by Aang's speech. She turned to Ty Lee. "Do you believe this as well, Ty Lee?"

"Well…I'll admit some of the stuff we've seen has been a little unsettling. But the Fire Nation would never hurt people."

Azula laughed. "Exactly. You've got the right of it. You see Avatar; the Fire Nation can only be described as the greatest society this world has ever known. It would be criminal of us not to share our prosperity and knowledge with the rest of the world."

"By conquering them?!"

"It isn't our fault of the other nations aren't smart enough to understand the gifts we're giving them. Look at your people. They choose senseless destruction over living in an enlightened world." It took every fiber of self control Aang possessed not to leap at Azula.

"You want to know something, Azula?" Aang felt a strange sense of bravado come over him. "A few days after I met Ty Lee, I had a vision. Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me, appeared to tell me what my duty as the Avatar was. He said that the action's of the Fire Nation had greatly upset the balance of the four elements, of the world itself, and that the balance must be restored if chaos was to be averted. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do what he said. I'm just one kid, even if I am the Avatar, and I didn't think I could do it all myself. I wasn't even sure Roku knew what he was talking about."

Aang glared up at Azula. "But now I see Roku was right! The Fire Nation has twisted and destroyed this world! You've messed it up, and now it's my job to put it back the way it should be.

"Out of a sense of honor, I'm going to leave instead of taking you down. But I promise you, I will do everything in my power to bring the Fire nation to its knees, and if I ever see you again, I won't hesitate to attack."

Ty lee rushed to Aang's side. "Aang! How could you say such things?! Azula, please forgive him, he doesn't…" Her voice faded as Azula began laughing.

"What a foolish little boy! Let me tell you something…Aang, was it? A few months ago, I received a message from the Fire Sages, telling me of a fantastic occurrence at their temple. It said the eyes of their statue of Avatar Roku had glowed, signifying the Avatar's return. Naturally, my father, the Fire Lord, and 

I were most intrigued. The Avatar had been missing for a century, and my own brother, weak and pathetic as he was, had been driven mad with his search for you. Of course, either of us had any idea where you might be…so, imagine my delight when I received a letter from my dear friend Ty Lee, saying she was on her way to Ba Sing Se, and that she was bringing the Avatar."

Aang glared daggers at Ty Lee. Azula stood and started down the stairs to the floor.

"Of course, chains of command being what they are, the whole military soon knew you were out there, and I began getting almost daily reports of sightings of you and your flying bison. Then, they mysteriously stopped. It was as if you had dropped off the map. Then, another stroke of luck: the Dai Li reported that they had captured an animal matching a description of your bison. He was loaded with supplies and clothing. I figured that you had sent him ahead and continued on foot, to hide from our patrols."

Aang lunged forward. "YOU captured Appa! Where is he?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Aang's vision began to glow, flickering as he struggled to maintain control.

"We locked him away in a cell in the Dai Li headquarters. Your possessions were planted in a house in the Lower Ring, and all took was some simple maneuvering to get you to go to that house. Elementary, really." Azula smiled. "Of course, all that is rather moot now that you're here before me. My father will be so pleased to hear that I've eliminated the last threat to his reign."

Ty Lee's eyes widened. "Azula, what are you talking about? Aang is the Avatar!"

"And the Avatar is a threat, Ty Lee. By imprisoning him, we will have removed the last obstacle to total world control. Now, help me bring him down."

"NO ONE IS BRINGING ME DOWN!" Aang's voice echoed in a hundred different timbres as the Avatar State took effect. The familiar sphere of air formed around him, and he rose off the floor.

Azula grinned wickedly. "So, this is the Avatar's power. I was hoping for a bit of fun!" She punched the air, and a gout of blue flame flew at Aang, who whirled his staff calmly, dissipating it. Azula came at him, sending flame after flame in his direction. Aang dodged or deflected them all, and returned with a massive aerial slice that knocked Azula off her feet and slammed her into the dais.

"Ty Lee! I order you, as a citizen of the Fire Nation, to take him down!" Ty Lee looked horrified.

"Azula...I…I can't! Aang is my friend!"

"Idiot! Then I have no use for you!" Azula swept her arms around her, electricity crackling around her fingertips. Just as she was aiming at Ty Lee, however, Aang swooped in, throwing her across the room and sending her shot wild. The bolt of lightning she emitted hit one of the braziers, exploding it.

Azula wasted no time in shooting lightning at Aang, who zigzagged around the room to avoid it. He retaliated, slamming into the ground, ripping the stone floor apart and sending chunks of it at Azula, who had to use all her concentration to dodge.

When he was finished, Aang rose high in the air. "AZULA, YOU AND YOUR BRETHEREN WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO THIS WORLD. IN TIME, ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE FIRE NATION WILL FEEL MY RETRIBUTION, BUT FOR NOW, YOU WILL BE PUNISHED FIRST!" He raised his arms over his head, and brought them down. With a mighty roar, Aang's shell of air exploded, ripping apart everything it came in contact with. Everything in the room was tossed about wildly, and a few seconds, later, the walls themselves gave way, torn asunder by the raging wind.

In the midst of it all, Aang landed near Ty Lee, grabbed her before she could be swept away, and flew away from the destruction as fast as he could.

* * *

A/N: So, this chapter concludes the first arc of Aang's Journey. With that being said, there's going to be a (hopefully) brief hiatus while I finish brainstorming for the next arc, and get a buffer of chapters written. For those of you wh continue to support me and leave reviews I can't thank you guys enough, and I hope you'll come back to read the next part!


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